Project: Fall 2014 College and Career Exploration

Step Description Expected Student Results
1 Topic Selection
Student Task: The student will write an introductory letter
to their mentor, including their interests and activities.
They will include a description of their area of primary
career interest, citing specific reasons why this career is
of interest. They will submit their paragraph and will be
matched with a mentor with interest and/or experience in
that area.

Mentor Task: The mentor will reply by asking questions about
student interests and offering his/her own insight. Through
the questioning, the mentor will try to help the student
narrow the primary interest if necessary that he/she would
like to explore further.
Student Task: The student will write an introductory letter
to their mentor.

THE FIRST PORTFOLIO ENTRY will be an introductory letter
from student to mentor that includes their school and
extracurricular interests and activities. The letter will
include a description of student's primary area of career
interest and will explain the specific reasons for their
focus on that career.

After the mentor reviews and responds to the student's
portfolio, the student will respond to mentor with a well-
written, correctly punctuated letter thanking mentor for
their interest and answering any questions raised by the
mentor.

2 Career Research

Step 2, Student Task #1: Students will research, analyze,
and synthesize information about one career, then type an
informational summary paragraph to submit to their mentors
for feedback. They will include all information required by
their teacher in their write-ups.

Career research paragraphs must include information from a
minimum of three valid research sources. (Students may not
cite Wikipedia as a source but may link to primary sources
from Wikipedia references)

The web address (html) or bibliographical information for
each source must be listed in a bibliography after the
research paragraph to indicate where the information came
from.

Students will submit paragraph for mentor and teacher
feedback.

Step 2 Student Task #2: Students will watch a minimum of
five minutes of career videos for both of the top careers
they have chosen, take notes on important information from
each video, and summarize what they have learned. Students
may watch one five-minute video or multiple shorter videos
for each career as long as the total time is at least five
minutes per career.

Students will record the URLs of all videos accessed to
provide to their teacher and mentor.

Students will follow directions written by their teacher for
this activity and will submit the information in the
required format to their mentor for analysis and feedback.


Mentor Task: After the student has identified the career
that is of the most interest to him/her, the mentor will
send the student suggested research keywords and helpful
websites to use during internet research and/or videos on
their two selected career areas of interest. In addition,
the mentor should send the student some specific questions
related to exploring the careers to help provoke thought and
further study.

Career Research

Step 2 Student Task #1: Students will research, analyze,
and synthesize information about a career, then type an
informational summary paragraph on their chosen career to
submit to their mentors for feedback. They will include all
information required by their teacher in their write-ups.
(see below for requirements)

Career research paragraphs must include information from a
minimum of three valid research sources. (Students may not
cite Wikipedia as a source but may link to primary sources
from Wikipedia references)

The web address (html) or bibliographical information for
each source must be listed in a bibliography after the
research paragraph to indicate where the information came
from.

Students will submit paragraphs for mentor and teacher
feedback.

Career Informational Paragraphs should include the following
information along with other interesting information that
the student and mentor discover about the career through
their research together:

1. "Career cluster" overall field of interest (examples:
Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics; Marketing,
Sales & Service; Human Services; and so on as found on
career cluster inventory.)
2. The name of the specific career
3. Education and skill preparation/requirements (In other
words--what type of degree/training is required for an entry
job in this field?)
4. Specific duties that someone in this career will perform
5. Possible challenges/difficulties that may be encountered
in this job
6. Expected salary range for someone in this field
(compensation)
7. Outlook for future job growth in this field
8. Describe what a student in high school can do to prepare
for this job (include courses to take in high school,
volunteer/summer jobs/etc would be helpful to a student
wishing to enter this field)
9. Possible potential employers for someone working in this
field (Hospitals? Schools? Companies?
10. What are some other career fields that are related to
this field?

In their career paragraph, students will write a Conclusion
Section. In the Conclusion Section, they will answer both
of the following questions:

Conclusion Section:

1. From what you have learned through your research, do you
feel you are suited to this career? Why or why not?

2. What do you need to do this week/month/and year to work
towards a career in this goal?


Step 2 Student Task #2:

Student Task: Students will watch a minimum of five minutes
of career videos for both of the top careers they have
chosen, take notes on important information from each video,
and summarize what they have learned. Students may watch one
five-minute video or multiple shorter videos for each career
as long as the total time is at least five minutes per
career.

Students will record the URLs of all videos accessed to
provide to their teacher and mentor.

Students will follow directions written by their teacher for
this activity and will submit the information in the
required format to their mentor for analysis and feedback.


Student Task: Students will communicate with mentors
throughout the development of their research paragraphs,
send rough drafts of their work, and upload their research
paragraphs to the Telementor site for mentor feedback.
3 Step 3 Mentor Task 1: The mentor will help the student to
identify two professional organizations and discuss the
benefits of membership in professional organizations.

Mentor Task 2: The mentor will help the student identify one
top professionals who is active in each of the professional
organization students research

The student will identify one top professional who is active
in each professional organization they research. (total of
two top professionals) and write a paragraph detailing their
accomplishments and explaining why they are considered
important in their fields.

The student will distinguish between professional
organization and a company.

The student will identify at least two professional
organizations in their career field of interest.

They will compose an entry for EACH organization
describing/including the following:

1. Name of the organization
2. Benefits of membership
3. Cost of yearly membership (include student membership if
offered)
4. Professional publications of the organization
5. Annual conferences/dates/locations
6. Two top professionals identified within each
organization. Student should download and save a photo of
each top professional identified along with information
about why they are considered important in their field and
organization.
7. E-mail contacts for at least two top professionals
identified within each professional organization.


Step 3 Student Task:

Research and Writing Activity 1: the student will learn
about what a professional organization is and understand the
importance of professionals joining a professional
organization.

The student will discuss the importance of professional
organization membership with their mentor to demonstrate
understanding.

Activity 2: The student will identify one top professional
who is active in each professional organization they
research. (total of two top professionals) and write a
paragraph detailing the professional accomplishments,
education, and credentials and explaining why each
professional is considered important in their fields.

The student will distinguish between a professional
organization and a company.

Writing task for Activity 1:

The student will identify at least two professional
organizations in their career field of interest. They will
compose an entry for each organization describing/including
the following:
1. Name of the organization
2. Benefits of membership
3. Cost of yearly membership (include student membership if
offered)
4. Professional publications of the organization
5. Annual conferences/dates/locations
6. Two top professionals identified within each
organization. Student should download and save a photo of
each top professional identified along with information
about why they are considered important in their field and
organization.
7. E-mail contacts for at least two top professionals
identified within each professional organization.


Student Research Activity 2: In addition to reading and
writing Activities 1-2, the student will locate, download,
and save a graphic symbol of the professional organization
in high resolution to be used later in their portfolio,
PowerPoint, and on their project poster.
4 Mentor Task: The mentor will help the student identify
professionals working in their field of interest (either
local, regional, national, or international) and develop a
contact list of e-mails for at least 5 "every day"
professionals.

The mentor will assist the student in composing a letter and
list of interview questions that may be modified for each
professional.

The mentor will further assist the student by e-mailing the
student's questions to professionals and posting the
response(s) to the student through the Telementor site.

Mentor Task: Ask the student what questions they think would
be important in an interview. Discuss with the student
differences in an oral interview and in an e-mail interview.

Mentor Task: Guide students as they write a brief
introductory paragraph describing their project. This
paragraph will be sent along with their interview questions.
Stress to the student the importance of correct grammar and
punctuation in an interview. Review and help students
revise their introductory paragraph and interview questions.

Mentor Task: Please assist the teacher and student by e-
mailing the student's questions to the professionals and by
posting the answers for their students on the ITP website.

If you don't hear back from a professional, please follow up
with the individuals contacted to determine whether or not
he/she will be able to answer the student's questions in a
timely manner.

Student Task: The student will work with the mentor to
develop a short introductory paragraph and questions for the
e-mail interviews. The introductory paragraph should be a
note explaining their career interest and purpose of their
research. They will respond appropriately and immediately
with a thank you note when interview responses are received.

The 4th student portfolio entry will include an introductory
letter and list of interview questions to be sent to at
least five professionals working in the student's area of
career interest.

Activity 1: The student will work with their mentors to
locate e-mail contact information for five "every day"
professionals in preparation to send interviews for
information. These professionals may be local, regional,
national, or international.

Activity 2: The student will work with the mentor to
create/compose/develop a short introductory letter to each
professional working in their field of interest. The
introductory letter should explain their career interest and
purpose of their research.

The student will write a draft of their introductory letter
and post it to their mentor for editing and approval.

The mentor will e-mail the student's letter and questions to
the identified professionals.

Sample letter to a professional:

Dear Professional,

I am a ninth grade student in Louisiana and am interested in
the career field of chemical engineering (you fill in your
selected career field). I am researching this field as part
of a class project with the help of a professional mentor
through the International Telementor Program this semester
and have developed some interview questions to help me learn
more about this field.

If you are willing to answer my questions, I know it would
help me to expand my understanding about what it takes to be
a professional in this career field. Please send your
answers to my mentor through her(you fill in his or her) e-
mail and she (select his or her) will send them to me.

Thank you very much for your time and for considering this
request.
Sincerely,
Your First Name

After students have created their letter, they will work
with their teacher and mentor to develop a list of ten
interview questions designed to elicit information about the
career field. Use the following guidelines and see the
interview question template as examples.


Students should consider the sample interview questions
provided by their teacher and should brainstorm additional
questions with their mentor in order to gain as much
information as possible from the professional interviews.

Students should write questions in such a way that they
cannot be answered with one word or yes/no answers and so
that each question will elicit a generous amount of
information interesting to the student.

Students should NOT JUST COPY/PASTE THE SAMPLE QUESTIONS!
Really think about what YOU want to know and revise them
accordingly.

Students should send the messages to their mentor for
suggestions and editing. Incorporate their feedback into
the final version of your interview questions and send back
a final copy. TELL YOUR MENTOR WHEN YOU ARE DONE EDITING
THE QUESTIONS AND WOULD LIKE THEM TO GO AHEAD AND SEND THEM
TO PROFESSIONALS.

SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (modify to fit your
interests/career field and work with your mentor to make
them the best they can be!)

1. Please describe your current job title and position and
responsibilities including some of the daily tasks you
perform.

2. What classes did you take in high school and college
that you feel were the most helpful in preparing you for
this career?

3. What type and level of education did you have in order
to qualify for your current position?


4. Please describe the physical work environment of your
work place.

5. What type of other professionals do you work very closely
with on a regular basis and how do you interact with these
professionals?

6. Do you consider your work to be interesting? Why or why
not?

7. Please describe what you consider to be the most
enjoyable and least enjoyable parts of your job and why you
feel this way.

8. What are some of the biggest challenges a professional in
your position deals with on a regular basis?

9. Knowing what you have experienced in your professional
life and the future outlook for this career, would you still
select this career for yourself and would you recommend it
to someone my age? Why or why not?

10. Is there any additional advice you have for someone my
age who is interested in this field?


After submitting introductory letter and questions to
mentor, student should proceed to the next portfolio.

Waiting for interview responses sometimes takes several
weeks. During this time, the student will continue to
research and work on unfinished research and writing for
other portfolios.

As each interview is posted for the student, students will
stop whatever other research they are doing immediately and
will write an appropriate thank you note back to the
professional following the guidelines provided by the
teacher.

Thank you note guidelines have been provided by the teacher
and students have been given a written copy of them to
follow as well. Thank you guidelines may be found in
Portfolio 6.

Students should respond to the interview with a thank you
note within two days after receiving the interview and then
will work on a summary of the interview as well.

THE THANK YOU NOTE ALWAYS COMES FIRST because it is
extremely important that the professionals who respond know
that their time and efforts are appreciated by the student!
As soon as the thank you note is written, it should be
uploaded to the mentor so that he/she can send it to the
professional immediately.

5 Portfolio 5: Conducting College Research and Analyzing
Professional Interviews

Mentor Task: During Step 4, the mentor contacted
professional individuals via phone or e-mail asking them to
answer student interview questions and submitted the
questions to those individuals via e-mail. During step 5,
the mentor will hopefully receive the student's interview
questions via e-mail. When answers are received from the
professionals, mentors will post the interview responses to
students through the telementor site.

Mentor Task: While waiting for interviews to be returned,
the mentor will work with the student to help them explore
college/university websites and learn information about the
admissions requirements, degree/program offerings, cost, and
other important topics as outlined in the student task
section. Mentors should challenge students be sure that
their chosen schools offer their major field of interest and
challenge students to thoroughly research their chosen
universities.

Mentor Task: As interviews are received and students
summarize and respond with a thank you note, mentors will
help proofread and make suggestions for improvement on
student thank you notes. After they are refined, mentors
will forward student thank you notes to each professional.

In addition, they will proofread and collaborate with
students as they evaluate information received during
interviews and will provide feedback to students as they
summarize interview responses. This process carries over
into Portfolio 6.

Student Step 5 Task Number 1: Students will work on college
research as
outlined below while waiting for interviews.

International Telementor Portfolio 5 Assignments:

The students will use the Internet to research four
universities/colleges of interest that have highly respected
programs in their chosen career field. At least one
university must be in Louisiana.

BEFORE a student selects a particular university as one of
their four to research, students MUST search university
degree offerings to be certain that their degree program of
interest is offered at that particular school.

Students will communicate with their mentor to ask their
advice about university programs and will discuss their
findings and collaborate with mentor for assistance and to
expand their learning opportunities throughout this step.

Students will use keywords/college websites/ and other
information that the mentor suggests to locate other
universities/colleges that offer programs in their field of
interest and read about several before selecting three
universities to research in-depth.

Written entries should be organized by university and will
include the following information.

The teacher will provide a spreadsheet for students to use
and they must record their information in the spreadsheet.
This spread sheet will be e-mailed to students.


Here is the information that must be included in a separate
written portfolio entry for EACH of the three
college/universities chosen by the student:

1. The college/university name and web address

2. The city and state- location of the college/university

3. Distance from home (use Google maps or map quest to find
distance)

4. Size of school including:
a. Overall campus size
b. Student/Faculty Ratio

5. a. Admissions office mailing address
b. Admissions office telephone
c. Contact person
d. Application fee

6. Admissions requirements including required ACT/SAT scores
and grade point average if listed.
Does this school require the writing portion of the ACT?

7. Admission application deadlines for the current year

8. Scholarship primary application deadlines for current
year

9. Specific reasons why you chose to explore this
college/university

10. Other important information (athletics, Clubs on campus,
fraternities/sororities, ROTC, music, debate,

11. Cost of attendance at the university, including:
a. Tuition (list by semester or quarter depending on the
university and total for the year)
b. Estimated cost of books/supplies
c. Required fees
d. Cost of dorm or apartment (room) for campus housing
e. Cost of the meal ticket for on campus meals that you feel
best meets your needs (check the different plans and decide
which would have the number of meals per week that meets
your eating habit. Keep in mind that you will sometimes want
to eat out and also may go home for the weekend sometimes as
you decide how many meals a week to purchase in your meal
plan.)


Step 5 Task Number 2: Additional Student Task: Students
will search college major
requirements for their major of interest and will complete a
4 year schedule of classes for their college undergraduate
degree program.

Student Task for Analyzing Professional Interviews: As soon
as each interview is received, students will read and
analyze information provided by the professionals.

They will record information about each professional and
summarize/write a portfolio entry detailing information from
each professional interview. In addition to including the
information provided by the professionals, students will
include any new insights they learned about their career of
interest.

Students will upload a separate summary for each individual
interview for mentor approval AND will immediately write a
thank you note as outlined in Portfolio 6. The mentor will
make suggestions for improvement and forward the student’s
finalized thank you not to each professional who responds as
soon as possible.
Student Step 5 Task Number 1: Students will work on college
research as
outlined below while waiting for interviews.

International Telementor Portfolio 5 Assignments:

The students will use the Internet to research four
universities/colleges of interest that have highly respected
programs in their chosen career field. At least one
university must be in Louisiana.

BEFORE a student selects a particular university as one of
their four to research, students MUST search university
degree offerings to be certain that their degree program of
interest is offered at that particular school.

Students will communicate with their mentor to ask their
advice about university programs and will discuss their
findings and collaborate with mentor for assistance and to
expand their learning opportunities throughout this step.

Students will use keywords/college websites/ and other
information that the mentor suggests to locate other
universities/colleges that offer programs in their field of
interest and read about several before selecting three
universities to research in-depth.

Written entries should be organized by university and will
include the following information.

The teacher will provide a spreadsheet for students to use
and they must record their information in the spreadsheet.
This spread sheet will be e-mailed to students.


Here is the information that must be included in a separate
written portfolio entry for EACH of the three
college/universities chosen by the student:

1. The college/university name and web address

2. The city and state- location of the college/university

3. Distance from home (use Google maps or map quest to find
distance)

4. Size of school including:
a. Overall campus size
b. Student/Faculty Ratio

5. a. Admissions office mailing address
b. Admissions office telephone
c. Contact person
d. Application fee

6. Admissions requirements including required ACT/SAT scores
and grade point average if listed.
Does this school require the writing portion of the ACT?

7. Admission application deadlines for the current year

8. Scholarship primary application deadlines for current
year

9. Specific reasons why you chose to explore this
college/university

10. Other important information (athletics, Clubs on campus,
fraternities/sororities, ROTC, music, debate,

11. Cost of attendance at the university, including:
a. Tuition (list by semester or quarter depending on the
university and total for the year)
b. Estimated cost of books/supplies
c. Required fees
d. Cost of dorm or apartment (room) for campus housing
e. Cost of the meal ticket for on campus meals that you feel
best meets your needs (check the different plans and decide
which would have the number of meals per week that meets
your eating habit. Keep in mind that you will sometimes want
to eat out and also may go home for the weekend sometimes as
you decide how many meals a week to purchase in your meal
plan.)


Step 5 Task Number 2: Additional Student Task: Students
will search college major
requirements for their major of interest and will complete a
4 year schedule of classes for their college undergraduate
degree program.

Student Task for Analyzing Professional Interviews: As soon
as each interview is received, students will read and
analyze information provided by the professionals.

They will record information about each professional and
summarize/write a portfolio entry detailing information from
each professional interview. In addition to including the
information provided by the professionals, students will
include any new insights they learned about their career of
interest.

Students will upload a separate summary for each individual
interview for mentor approval AND will immediately write a
thank you note as outlined in Portfolio 6. The mentor will
make suggestions for improvement and forward the student’s
finalized thank you not to each professional who responds as
soon as possible.
6 Letters of Appreciation and Interview Summaries

Mentor Task: After each interview has been received, mentors
should guide students through writing a thank you note.
Then, mentors should let students know how to properly
address their thank you notes to the professionals.(Dr.,
Captain, Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc). At no time should e-mail
contacts be exchanged between student and professionals.

After a thank you note has been written by the student and
approved by the mentor, the mentor should forward the thank
you note to the individual.

Student task: The student will create a letter of thanks
specifically tailored for each of their interview subjects.
Each of the professionals who were contacted for interviews
about the area of interest should receive a personalized
letter of thanks via e-mail. The information in the letter
should refer to the student's skill and interest as
evidenced by the interview. The individuals' contact
information will be a part of the action plan and letters of
reference will be maintained in the student's portfolio.


Guidelines for student thank you notes:

The student will create a letter of thanks specifically
tailored for each of the professionals who answered their
questions.

Thank you letters may not be generic "thank you for helping
me..." types of letters. Students should remember that
these professionals have taken valuable time to write to
them and share their advice so they should take the time to
thoughtfully write a response.

Each personalized letter of thanks should include references
to specific pieces of information contained in the interview
response that helped students or attracted their particular
attention.

Suggestions for students: Here are just a few possible
examples of how to work specific pieces of valuable
information from the interview back into your thank you note
to show the professionals that you both READ carefully and
TRULY do appreciate their help!

Thank you for sharing the information about...with me.

I thought it was particularly interesting when you said....

Your advice about ....will be of help in the future
because...

I appreciated when you mentioned ....because...

I didn't know that ...

Your emphasis on ...was very interesting to me because...

Students will send a draft of each thank you note to their
mentor for feedback. They will make suggested corrections
and upload the note for final approval from the mentor.

After thank you note has been approved, student will print a
copy of their letter of thanks for their portfolio.

Students will type a list of names of each professional who
was contacted and the date thank you notes were sent.
Students will turn this information into teacher by a
specified deadline.


After thank you notes are completed, students will compose a
written summary of each interview in order to analyze and
synthesize the information presented in the interview. This
summary will become a part of their written portfolio.
The sixth portfolio entry

The student will create a letter of thanks specifically
tailored for each of the professionals who answered their
questions.

The students will also compose a written summary of each
interview in order to analyze and synthesize the information
presented in the interview. This summary will become a part
of the student's written portfolio.

Students: Thank you letters may not be generic "thank you
for helping me..." types of letters. Remember that these
professionals have taken valuable time to write to you and
share their advice with you, so you should take the time to
thoughtfully write a response.

Each personalized letter of thanks should include references
to specific pieces of information contained in the interview
response that helped students or attracted their particular
attention.

Here are just a few possible examples of how to work
specific pieces of valuable information from the interview
back into your thank you note to show the professionals that
you both READ carefully and TRULY do appreciate their help!

Thank you for sharing the information about...with me.

I thought it was particularly interesting when you said....

Your advice about ....will be of help in the future
because...

I appreciated when you mentioned ....because...

I didn't know that ...

Your emphasis on ...was very interesting to me because...

Students will send a draft of each thank you note to their
mentor for feedback. They will make suggested corrections
and upload the note for final approval from the mentor.

After thank you note has been approved, student will print a
copy of their letter of thanks for their portfolio.

Each student and his/her mentor will decide whether to e-
mail or to "snail mail" their thank you notes to the
professionals who answered their interview questions.
Mentors will provide mailing addresses for students if they
want their students to mail the letters from school.
Students who are to mail their letters will print, address
an envelope, and mail their letters from school.



7 Mentor Tasks: The mentor will help the student identify
current event articles in their career fields of interest.

The mentor will suggest current event articles that contain
relevant information about their student's field or fields of
interest and "discuss" current issues relating to those career
fields with the student.
The seventh portfolio entry will be a typed summary of three
current event articles relating to the student’s career(s)
of interest.


The student will read and summarize three (3) current event
articles online relating to their field of interest.
Students may read multiple articles before selecting the
three current events they want to include in this portfolio.


To select articles, students should use key word searches
such as “psychology current event articles” or “cosmetology
current events.” or something similar using their career(s)
of interest.


Current event articles may be on any topic related to their
field as long as they are interesting to the student and
relevant to their chosen career field. Student should share
their articles with their mentor and “discuss” the
significance of the current events and the information they
have learned in their day-to-day correspondence.


Summaries for each article should include the title and
author of the article and should give a brief overview of
content and be a minimum of 10-12 sentences in length.

Summaries should also include a concluding statement about
why this article was of interest to the student and how
learning this information will help them as they prepare to
become professionals in this field in the future.
8 Creating a Personal Mission Statement and a Plan of Action

From all the information that has been gathered, the student
will create a Plan of Action. The plan will outline in
detail the steps that are needed for the student to be
successful in his/her area of interest. It will include
courses to take, jobs to have, contacts to make and any
other information that the mentor and student decide is
important for the particular area.

Since it often takes several weeks for students to get
interview responses back from professionals, students may
jump ahead to this portfolio task and begin working on it
with their mentors while they wait for interviews to be
returned. It is helpful to students if mentors can share
examples of mission statements and give suggestions for
creating their plan of action while they are waiting for
interviews to be returned to keep collaboration going and
encourage them as they wait for their interview responses.
As soon as interview responses are returned, students should
promptly respond with a thank you note and summary
reflecting on the professional interview response. Mentors
can give valuable insight into how to respond and what they
think is the most important advice contained in the
interview and should correspond with the student about
various aspects of the interview response and challenge
students to really consider the information and not just
read and forget it!


Student Task: The student will create a plan of action
through correspondence with their mentor and reflection on
personal goals.

The seventh portfolio entry will consist of two parts, the
plan of action and personal mission statement.

Student Task: Students will create a Personal Mission
Statement and a Plan of Action and using the following
guidelines. They will consult with their teacher and mentor
while developing their Mission Statement and Plan of Action.

The mission statement should express their values, goals,
and what they perceive as their life mission. Students
should look online and discuss mission statement examples
with their mentor. The students should also read examples
of personal mission statements from the file their teacher
has posted on the school workgroup. Students will proofread
their statement and upload it for mentor approval.

Developing a Personal Mission Statement—A Mission Statement
describes your goals and values

The mission statement should express your values, goals, and
what you perceive as your life mission.
Students should look online and discuss mission statement
examples with their mentors.
Personal Mission Statement Example: I value my family, my
country, and my freedom. I believe in God and in the value
of hard work. I truly care about helping others learn and
reach their potential. I strive to have a positive attitude,
to be kind to others and to help where I am needed. I know
I can succeed in my personal goals because I know what I
believe in and have set positive goals for myself. I will
ask for help from those around me who have my best interests
in mind and will work hard and take advantage of learning
opportunities. I know I can and will succeed because I have
faith in God’s support and am willing to work hard to make
my dreams a reality.

Read mission statements on student posters around the room
and then develop your own using the template below.
Template for creating a personal Mission Statement:
Mission Statement
I value________________________________ and
______________________________________
I believe in__________________________ and in
_____________________________________
I truly care about_____________________________and
__________________________________
I will
keep________________________________________________________
_______________
I will try to
____________________________________________________________
__________
I will strive
for_________________________________________________________
____________
I will work
towards_____________________________________________________
_______________
I plan
to__________________________________________________________
______________
I will dedicate myself
to__________________________________________________________
_____
I know I can and will succeed
because___________________________________________________


Creating an updated Plan of Action
From all the information that has been gathered, the student
will create a Plan of Action. The plan will outline in
detail the steps that are needed for the student to be
successful in his/her area of interest. It will include the
name of their area of interest, courses to take, jobs to
have, contacts to make and any other information that the
mentor and student decide is important for the particular
area. They will send this entry to their mentor for
feedback.

Plan of Action Template (should be modified to meet
individual student needs/actions/intent):

My primary area of interest is the field
of__________________. I plan to read ___________ to continue
learning as much about my interest as possible and to
develop positive habits. I plan on volunteering at ________
to learn more about my area of interest during the next
_____________months/years.

My current career goal is to (study, earn a degree in,
become…) ___________. In order to reach this goal, I plan
to apply to and attend_______________ university/college
(you may list alternate universities too) and major in
_________________. I will contact the _____________at my
university of interest to request information and prepare
for college entrance and success.

The high school and/or college courses (primary curriculum
areas) I am currently enrolled in that are most directly
related to my interests include ___________________. In
order to prepare for a successful start to my postsecondary
education, this semester, I am currently addressing the
following three educational, social, and/or personal goals
(list three areas)___________________ ___________________
and __________________to try to improve my chances of future
success.

To meet my goal, I plan to develop a better understanding of
the following area(s) of college/university interest
(examples: schools with excellent programs in my field of
interest, scholarships that I would qualify to receive,
activities at school, admissions standards, and so
on.)____________, _______________, ______________during the
next month. In addition, I plan to ______________during the
next two months to learn more about ____________. During my
first year of college, I plan to ________. During the
second year of college, I anticipate _______________. My
third year of college, I will be ________________. My
fourth year of college will be spent_____________________.

Five years from now I plan to_____________________. I hope
to live___________________ After that, I will
go____________________ and do________________and
be__________________. I anticipate success in my future
college and career because I have prepared
___________________. I believe I can and will meet my goals
because I am determined to _______________.

The student will upload the plan of action to the mentor for
approval and input. After interaction with mentor, student
will print their plan of action and personal mission
statement and put it in their portfolio
9 Preparing to share the project
Mentor will share with student suggestions on ways to share
their project with an appropriate audience.

Student Task: Student will develop tools to help share
their final project product plan with mentors online and
will finalize and print their portfolio for others to view.
They will prepare to present the information gathered during
this project to an appropriate audience.

Student Task: Student will prepare a PowerPoint
presentation AND a PowerPoint template-generated poster
(using guidelines provided by their teacher) including
information gathered during this project and will prepare to
share the presentation with an appropriate audience.

Teacher will assist students by enlarging/printing project
posters on computer generated template.

Students will present their PowerPoint presentation and
PowerPoint template generated posters as a visual aid along
with their project portfolios when they present their work
to an appropriate audience.

PowerPoint presentation and Poster will include the
following information IN ADDITION to any other information
requested by the mentor:


The PowerPoint presentation and poster will include the
following major sections of the project relating to their
chosen career that was gathered during the mentor/student
research through this program.

1. Student's name, student's school, mentor's name and
mentor's company, name of career researched.

2. Names of two top professionals and some of the reasons
they are considered outstanding in their field

3. Names, graphic organization symbols, and information
about each professional organization researched

4. Summary/Results of interviews with at least three
professionals working in their field of interest
Professional #1 Name, job description, and top advice
Professional #2 Name, job description, and top advice
Professional #3 Name, job description, and top advice

5. Personal Mission Statement

6. Personal Action Plan

7. Interesting information (fast-facts, etc) learned about
the career

8. College choices and college graphic symbols

9. Closing Statement about the student's short and long-term
educational and career goals and comments about what student
learned from this project.
Students will create a Poster using a PowerPoint Template
and also create a PowerPoint presentation.

Poster and PowerPoint presentation must include the
following major sections of the project relating to their
chosen career that was gathered during the mentor/student
research through this program.

1. Student's name, student's school, mentor's name and
mentor's company, name of career researched.


2. Names and summary of information about two top
professionals and some of the reasons they are considered
outstanding in their field

3. Names, graphic organization symbols, and information
about each professional organization researched

4. Summary of interviews with at least three professionals
working in their field of interest
Professional #1 Name, job description, and top
advice/interesting information that was shared
Professional #2 Name, job description, and top
advice/interesting information that was shared
Professional #3 Name, job description, and top
advice/interesting information that was shared


5. Personal Mission Statement

6. Personal Action Plan

7. Interesting information (five interesting facts)you
learned about the career

8. College choices and college graphic symbols (no other
college-related information is required)

9. Closing Statement including how this project has helped
direct the student's short and long-term educational and
career goals

Student will present project to an appropriate audience and
discuss career goals, information learned through the
research, and share his/her mission statement and action
plan with audience.

Students will design and create a portfolio cover sheet
including the following:

Student's name
Parkway High School
Mentor's name and company
Career Name
International Telementor Program
Fall, 2012
The covery sheet will also include a picture/graphic
relating to the student's chosen career of interest

The student will upload their project poster and their
PowerPoint presentation to their mentor for approval.

Final Step:
Student will write thank you letter to mentor detailing
specific areas that have been especially beneficial during
the project.
10 Sharing the Plan

Mentor will encourage student as they prepare and present
their project to an appropriate audience. They will discuss
oral presentation skills and give advice and professional
tips to help students present their work in an orderly,
professional manner.

Student Task: Student will share their final project
product plan with an appropriate audience.



Students will present their work to an appropriate audience
using visual aids, note cards, and applying presentation
tips/oral speaking skills practiced in class throughout the
semester.

Students should dress appropriately and ensure that all
materials are prepared.

Student will write thank you letter to mentor detailing
specific areas that have been especially beneficial during
the project.
Students will use proper grammar, punctuation, spelling, and
businesslike format and will provide specific details about
the many ways their mentor has helped them throughout this
project.