Mentoring Your Student Success Portfolio Student(s

Starting a New School Year: Mentoring Your Student Success Portfolio Student(s)

Joan Zaretsky, Chair

September is here again and the fresh start of a new school year! As a student, it is always exciting to start with your new school clothes, your new texts, your new binders/scribblers and in today’s world, perhaps your new tablet. As an RTAM member sponsoring your student relative for the Student Award when they graduate, you and your student may be starting a new portfolio or building on the one you supported your student to develop last year. Either way, the year is full of possibilities, new dreams, new aspirations and lots of fun and work along the way!

Here are some hints to get you started. Enjoy your many conversations with your student as you support them with unique ways to structure their portfolio! • Last September, you may recall we posted a

“September Monthly Discussion Starter” on our

RTAM website. We offered suggested section labels based on the criteria for the RTAM Student

Award application. For first time portfolio recipients, you may want to use these as starters.

• For those in year two, your student may want to choose sections which best meet your specific needs or specialties. Some new sections may include Career Interests, University Programs,

Scholarship/Award Applications or others which fit their needs in planning for their Graduation and specific career aspirations.

• If you are in year two of mentoring your student, you may want to discuss how they will continue to structure their portfolio. à Will they place all the past year’s entries in labelled sections at the back of the portfolio and create new sections for this upcoming year? The 2021-22 artifacts can be placed in unused back portfolio sections and new 2022-23 sections created at the front of their portfolio. à Will they simply continue to add to their current sections? If so, will they keep them organized with all their current entries at the front of each section and simply add new items behind them or the opposite way with last years’ entries at the back and add new ones to the front of each section? Either way, consider how they will keep new and old entries in chronological order?

Your student’s portfolio is their domain to create and develop based on their interests and perceived beneficial artifacts to support specialized requirements for their career goals. Have fun with your student developing their portfolio and supporting their collection of artifacts to bolster their applications and resume writing in their future!

If you have questions, please feel free to contact our Membership Coordinator, Dianne Casar, at the RTAM Office, who will forward them to the Student Success Portfolio Committee. All the best to you and your student(s) in 2022-23! 