Position: College Access Mentor

Reports to: Assistant Director of College Access

Work Hours: Typical Work Day: Monday-Friday - 10:30 AM - 7:00 PM

• Work Day changes during college application season: 2:00 PM - 11:00 PM
• Some weekend work and late nights will be required throughout the year (typically during College Application, Financial Aid, and SAT Programming seasons; annual events such as NAC Thanksgiving and NAC Graduation)

Status: Full-Time, non-exempt

Compensation:

• Starting Pay Range: $20-21.50 per hour (DOE)
• Health, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance (100% covered by Organization)
• 403(b) Retirement plan; Organization matches 3% after 1 year of employment
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 12 paid holidays and Paid Day Off on Birthday

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree (interest in Education, Social Services, Human Services, Psychology preferred)
• Valid CPR Certification (needs to be obtained prior to official hire)
• TB Clearance (needs to be obtained prior to official hire)
• Must pass DOJ fingerprinting clearance (provided by NAC)
• Some knowledge in helping youth apply to college
• Must be available to work through October, November, December and January

Description:

The mission of the Nicholas Academic Centers (NAC) is to provide support to under-served high school students to improve their academic performance, achieve their full scholarly and social potential, promote their admission to colleges and universities, retention, and graduation, and to impart the skills and knowledge necessary for them to live successful and productive lives. As a member of the Nicholas Academic Center College Access team, the College Access Mentor is responsible for challenging themselves to learn the process of college placement and apply valuable skills and practices for mentoring and helping students accomplish their higher education goals.

Duties and Expectations:

• Provide mentoring support to Nicholas Academic Centers youth during the college application and financial aid process
• Provide guidance to youth regarding college access, college success, and career goals
• Assist College Access Coordinator(CAC) with coordination of college learning opportunities to increase students’ college knowledge (college visits to NAC, college campus visits, college fairs, learning activities onsite and within community)
• Help students with filling out college applications for public 2-year, public 4-year, and private 4-year institutions
• Help students fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
• Help students fill out College Board’s College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile.
• Help students brainstorm and develop ideas for their personal statements and personal insight statements.
• Help edit and guide students to restructure their personal statements for college.
• Help students conduct research about different collegiate institutions.
• Help students conduct research about the links between college and careers.
• Assist in cultivating a safe mentorship environment for student interactions
• Assist the CAC in providing college recommendations for seniors
• Assist the CAC in providing recommendations for improving college essays
• Assist and support CAC in College Access programming
• Assist the CAC with improving student attendance to senior workshops, college presentations, and College Access programming.
• Assist the CAC in developing plans of action for students collegiate goals
• Maintain a positive attitude and remain flexible with daily assignments
• Maintain current and knowledgeable on trends, policies, and issues relevant to educational equity, higher education, and college access program development
• Assist the CAC with data tracking
• Assist the CAC with data entry
• Assist students with completing college applications
• Assist students with reviewing personal statements
• Assist students with completing financial aid applications
• Assist NAC seniors with understanding their financial aid gap and the NAC financial gap stipend program information
• Guide NAC seniors with the college decision process
• Assist with implementing winter, spring, and summer break activities and programming (classes, workshops, field trips, Fun Fridays), teaching classes as appropriate
• Assist with mentoring 8th-11th grade students regarding college plans
• Assist 8th-11th grade students explore their insterspective writing to help prepare them for future college applications.
• Assist with facilitating college knowledge workshops in classroom and small learning groups
• Work with CAC and the Academic Services Managers to identify ways to outreach and teach NAC students about college, college essay writing, college applications, financial aid application, and making college transition decisions.
• Assist 10th and 11th graders with developing writing for pre-college program applications

Position Objectives:

• Mentor will be able to help students navigate through the college application process via the Common App, Coalition, University of California, Cal State Apply
• Mentor will be able to effectively edit and submit FAFSA, Dream Act, CSS Profile
• Mentor will efficiently operate in a non-profit, community-based organization
• Mentor will become knowledgeable in the college application process, financial aid process, and college placement
• Mentor will learn how to properly network and engage with college representatives
• Mentor will become knowledgeable in advocating for underrepresented students in the higher education system
• Mentor will possess a diverse set of skills for essay brainstorming, editing, and writing for UC, Cal State, and Private school applications
• Mentor will be aware of how to mentor high school students by asking open ended questions

Budget/Fiscal

• Track and document expenses related to College Access programming
• Assist with tracking College Access budget
• Assist with tracking collecting financial documentation as outlined by NAC Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Other

• Perform other duties as assigned and/or as needed to meet operation and program goals.
• Maintain current and knowledgeable on trends, policies, and issues relevant to educational equity, higher education, and college access program development.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $20.00 - $21.50 per hour

Expected hours: 40 per week

Benefits:

• 403(b)
• 403(b) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Mileage reimbursement
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• working with youth: 1 year (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Santa Ana, CA (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Santa Ana, CA: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Willingness to travel:

• 25% (Required)

Work Location: In person