In their shoes: the life-changing impact of Mentoring

Research from The Annie E Casey Foundation in 2024 found that 74% of adults who had a meaningful mentor as a young person say that person contributed significantly to their success later in life.

IntoUniversity supports young people from backgrounds where university may not be discussed as an option; sometimes it’s because the young person does not know anyone who has been to university and sometimes it’s because they don’t believe they will be successful in university. 

Our Mentoring programme is key to tackling these barriers to Higher Education so that young people believe that they can succeed in university and can have many more options for their future than they originally thought.

Mentors are our young people’s insights into university; Mentoring meetings often focus on what university is, the options of courses you can study and the abundance of opportunities you can have through your study and societies. 

Young people trust their mentors and before long, they start envisioning themselves in their shoes. The meetings tend to end with the young person believing a little bit more than before, that they can also progress to university and benefit from these opportunities. By the end of the mentorship, we hear our young people talk about their aspirations with a determination and ambition that they wouldn’t have done before they met their mentor.

“Young people trust their mentors and before long, they start envisioning themselves in their shoes. The meetings tend to end with the young person believing a little bit more than before, that they can also progress to university and benefit from these opportunities.”

I fell in love with this programme five years ago when I joined IntoUniversity as a Mentoring and Student Enrichment coordinator in Nottingham. Overseeing relationships between mentors and mentees was extremely rewarding and I witnessed the difference in the young people from when they first had their meeting to many meetings later; not only were their future options discussed but they also grew personally with regards to their social skills. Students were much more confident when speaking to newer staff members and students and they were more open to taking part in new opportunities and experiences. 

Now, five years on, I am the Head of University Student Mentoring, managing the Mentoring programme at IntoUniversity across our 44 centres. Whilst I do miss having that direct insight into mentoring pairs and their progression, I get the privilege of hearing about many more mentoring experiences, many more students who have developed self-belief and confidence in their future goals and see the success of the programme on a bigger scale.

This type of success wouldn’t be possible without volunteers. Volunteers like Rianno are a great example. Rianno mentored in our IntoUniversity Bow centre and studied at St Mary’s University. When asked what they enjoyed the most, Rianno highlighted the “structure and support you receive as a mentor. The organisation provides excellent resources which guide you into supporting your mentee with their goals. The structure allows me to plan my sessions to the highest quality and standard for my mentee. I have been able to ensure the activities are unique and specific to support my mentee.” You can read more about her story here.

As I said at the start, research shows that 74% of adults who had a meaningful mentor as a young person say that person contributed significantly to their success later in life, (The Annie E Casey Foundation, 2024). I see this reality everyday at IntoUniversity as I hear of so many young people credit their mentors for giving them that support and guidance when they thought reaching Higher Education wouldn’t be possible. 

Something as small as one hour meeting can plant the seed in a young person and if we all do what we can to water and nurture it, it will surely grow into something amazing.

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