Becoming a Mentor

Mentoring is at the heart of the NCAPS experience. Nebraska CAPS locates a business/industry partner to mentor each junior and senior student. The purpose of the mentorship is for the mentor to assist the student to identify and develop skills and abilities important to their passion and career interest. Here is how it works:

  • The student has a Career Choice report that includes relevant skills, abilities, work activities, job details, work context, tools, technology, and education recommended by the US Department of Labor for the student’s career choice. The student uploads this report into Basecamp where it can be used to assist the student in determining a career they are passionate about.
  • Mentors will review the student skills, abilities, work activities, detailed work activities, and tasks to establish a work project the student will complete.  It is recommended to begin with a driving question. This statement should present a challenging problem or question at the heart of the project. The driving question should be engaging for students, open-ended, and aligned to specific goals.
  • A project should be designed to last for one semester or about four months. Consideration may be given to providing students a small project or series of mini projects with defined problems before moving into a very complex problem. Complex projects should be open-ended having many correct answers to maximize student engagement and build student confidence with the unknown.

To learn more about the mentoring program contact Dr. Stan Essink at sessink@southcentralusd.us or 402 726-2151.