Our Project:
The purpose of this competition is to both help the Evanston youth develop business skills and to train NU undergrads to be effective and attentive leaders/mentors. This opportunity is a great way for volunteers to give back while fostering patience, communication, and organizational skills through guiding younger students in solving complex problems. In the process, volunteers will learn to relate to their mentees, explain and clarify rules of competition and business concepts in a simple way, facilitate group progress and teamwork, and identify their leadership styles. Prior to the competition, volunteers will be trained on key mentorship skills, which they will practice in the competition. Specifically, the first half of the program will consist of mentorship sessions in which the volunteers teach entrepreneurship skills and lead group discussions to brainstorm on potential ideas (the curriculum will contain materials from JA and from other organizations, even coding skills). In the second half, mentors will guide the students through the case competition process, help them break down the big problem into solvable parts, and encourage teamwork and initiative. In the end, mentors will reflect on their leadership styles, how they practiced the key skills, and what they could have done better in a group discussion with feedback from JA Execs and students they worked with (anonymously). Overall, this will be an effective opportunity for NU students to have social impact while understanding and developing their core leadership strengths. Please help support us today!
Provide basic supplies that one mentor needs for the training workshop.
Provide materials for our hardworking mentors during the training workshop.
Provide a toolkit and reference materials packet to one mentor.
Provides training and mentorship development sessions for the mentors and prizes for student winners in the competition