Patrick Henry College Students Serving as Writing Mentors

Is your student interested in creative writing? Is your student looking for help on writing research papers or persuasive essays?   Does your student need one-on-one assistance in improving his/her writing skills? Some of Patrick Henry College’s brightest undergraduates and graduates would love to help. 

As part of PHC’s Writing Mentor Program, you can have a PHC student or graduate tutor your student in fiction or non-fiction writing. PHC mentors work with you and your child at your own pace to help them develop better writing skills. They can assist with school assignments, give students writing exercises and tips, or edit papers. Since our mentors work with your student via email, phone, or mail, you can take advantage of this program from wherever you live.

• Do PHC Mentors give writing assignments, or help with writing projects we assign?
  Our mentors will either help with a student’s school assignments, or create additional assignments for the student. You should let your mentor know what you want.
  
  This program is designed to supplement a curriculum a student is already using. Our mentors can give assignments to fill gaps in your curriculum or address a weakness in a student’s writing. Our mentors can also give students assignments to help the student work toward a particular goal, like writing a good research paper.   

• How much time does this involve? 
  You and your mentor can decide this. You can move more slowly or more quickly, according to your needs. Most students choose to use an half an hour to an hour of the mentor’s time each week.   

• How will we communicate with our mentor? 
  Our mentors can help via email, conventional mail, or phone. They should not be expected to pay phone expenses, however. Email is most common, supplemented from time to time with a phone conversation.   

• What does this cost? 
  Our mentors charge $10 per hour for their services. This is paid directly to the mentor, and we ask that you pay them for five hours at a time. The monthly cost will be determined by how much time you would like the mentor to spend working with your student, and can be adjusted according to your needs. 
  
  There is also a one-time $20 application fee to help cover PHC’s processing and administrative costs.  

• How do the mentors determine how much time they’ve spent on the program?
  After receiving your $50 check for the first five hours of mentoring, your mentor will keep track of his hours and let you know when he has spent five hours helping your student. The mentor will count the time he spends communicating directly with your student, coming up with assignments, or editing and commenting on assignments toward this total. You can talk with your mentor about how much time you would like them to spend on each assignment.   

• How do I sign up? 
  Download application form.
  Remember, space is limited, and mentors will be assigned on a first come, first served basis.
   
• What if I have more questions?
  Please direct them to Grace Lichlyter (MentorshipCoordinator@phc.edu, 888-338-1776). She's happy to help!