Colloquium

Engaging Ophelia New Mentoring Program Links Girls from Either Side of Adolescence By Sharon Keeler

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Twelve-year-old Michelle Stilkey of Raymond, N.H., embraces her mentore, Karen Robertson '00, an English major at UNH.

Amber Burley, Caeli Chasse and Christine Pangellman sit shoulder to shoulder, scooping dirt from a cardboard box into styrofoam cups. Kristan Keyes, a University of New Hampshire college student, leads the sixth-grade students through a simple science exercise --they're planting apple seeds and tracking how they grow week to week. Suddenly, the low-key banter amongst the group is punctuated by a loud scream.

"Ughh!," Chasse squeals out, "did you see that worm?" The girls peer reluctantly into the dirt pile, giggling, as Keyes gives them a brief lesson on earth worms and their important role in maintaining healthy soil.

Suddenly, before Keyes can get her last word out, the conversation shifts. "So tell us about that guy in your dorm," Burley blurts. "He's sooo cute!"

Keyes laughs. It's a typical scenario, she says. One minute they're acting like, well, girls. The next, they're behaving like young women. Having been there herself, Keyes understands what an emotional rollercoaster these early adolescent years can be. Maybe she can help make the ride a bit smoother.

The three Dover middle schoolers are part of a group of 56 New Hampshire girls participating in a new UNH mentoring program launched by Education Professor Barbara Krysiak and doctoral student Katharina Fachin Lucas. It is designed to see whether college-age mentors can help improve self-confidence and academic achievement among adolescent girls.

According to Krysiak, research shows that girls around the age of 10 begin deviating from boys in their academic pursuits, showing a decling interest in math and science, along with an overall loss of self-confidence.

Adolescence is a time when kids are developing their identity. They're looking for clarification of what they might become, as well as an understanding of what it means to be female or male," says Krysiak. "Our social norms define femininity pretty narrowly. By helping girls establish a relationship with a college-aged woman, we hope to show them that being female can include intelligence, confidence and academic aspirations."

Krysiak was inspired to begin the mentoring program by her work with girls during the 37 years she has been involved in public education. Her experiences working with girls from mostly working-class families has made her realize how important it is for them to have female role models in their lives if they're going to succeed both personally and professionally.

The girls joined the program as sixth graders last September and will participate as mentees for three years, as will the majority of the UNH students. In addition to Dover, they come from schools in Raymond, Hampton, Exeter, Milton and Durham. Selected by their teachers because of their potential, the girls are mostly from families where neither parent has been to college.

The mentors come from all different majors. Some are interested in teaching careers, some in math and science. Others wish to become counselors. All volunteered because they think it's important for young girls to have role models to help guide them along the way.

"Being that age is hard. There's a lot of changes going on, and the girls are trying to fit in," says Chris Fecteau, a junior from Biddeford, Maine. "There are social pressures, challenges with body image, and struggles with independence. We've experienced it; we're still experiencing it! We can help guide them, even though the steps might be small. And what happens from it all is that, hopefully, we're helping them to succeed in whatever they want to do--whether it be art or science."

Fecteau and the other mentors meet with their mentees once a week during the school year. They work with them on math and science problems, as well as communication and reasoning skills. They also meet with each other, with Krysiak and with Lucas, where they share their experiences, learn about adolescent development and hone their tutoring skills.

Lucas, who is conducting her doctoral research on the learning process taking place within the mentoring relationship, says the project is exciting because it examines the experiences of girls who are, in one group, just entering adolescence, and, in the other, at the very end of it.

"What can they learn from each other?" asks Lucas. "College students reflect on things differently, which enables them to deal better with complex issues involving academic and peer pressures. Can they help equip adolescent girls with better reasoning and decision-making skills? And how will helping these girls impact the mentors, themselves? We're hoping that our students get as much out of this relationship as the girls."

While the hard data is not in yet, the early anecdotal evidence looks promising. Jessie Robinson, age 12, is bucking the trends that predict her interest in science will begin to wane. The witty, energetic middle schooler from Raymond wants to be a chemist--an aspiration she says has been buoyed by her UNH mentor.

"Mostly, we talk about things going on at school. Sometimes it's school work, sometimes it's about other stuff," she says, explaining her relationship with her UNH graduate student Monique Teran of Dover. She ponders, and then replies, "It's like having another friend. It's fun because they're there for you."