How to Sign Up to be an ASE Mentor

Thank you for your interest in mentoring a bright, motivated high school student!

Signing up to take an ASE apprentice involves three steps:

Step 1

Identify a project that a student can complete in eight weeks during the summer. This activity could be part of a larger effort within your group or organization or it could be a discrete project that can be finished in eight weeks.

The important point is to over-, not under-, estimate what your apprentice will be able to accomplish. Long time mentors report that they often have two or three significant projects lined up in case the apprentice finishes the first one early, which can often happen. If they, themselves don’t have several projects available, they’ll often ask colleagues if they have potential projects on-hand.

Examples of the types of projects students work on each summer can be viewed on the Example Position Descriptions page.

Step 2

Complete and turn in a “Position Description Form” (Word, pdf). ASE uses the answers on this form to craft advertisements for available positions. Please see the Example Position Descriptions page for examples.

Step 3

Complete and turn in a "Sponsorship Agreement Form" (New Mentors: Word, pdf  ;  Returning Mentors: Word, pdf). ASE is 60% funded by mentoring organizations and 40% funded by foundations and individual donors.

In limited cases, ASE is able to use grant funds or donations to support positions, depending on the discipline and geographic location of the apprenticeship.

For scientists and engineers with NSF or NIH grants, it may be possible to ask individual Program Officers for supplemental funds in order to support an ASE apprentice. Please contact ASE for more information about this possibility.

Please contact ASE if you have any questions about this process, and/or if you would like help identifying a suitable project.

What Happens Next?

• In early February, ASE advertises available positions to interested high school students. Students write essays for up to three positions that interest them and turn in the essays, their transcript and two adult recommendations to ASE.
  
• In mid-March, ASE sends these application materials to mentors and mentors have a month to look them over and interview students.
  
• In mid-April, mentors tell ASE who they would like to work with and ASE contacts all students, accepted and not accepted.
  
• In mid-May, ASE sends out confirmation packets, holds orientations for students/parents and mentors and assigns high school teachers to be liaisons for mentor/apprentice pairs.
  
• By the end of June, most apprenticeships begin.

Please see the mentor Calendar page for further information.