MOSAIC, an affinity group on campus dedicated to students whose dual or mixed ethnicity is central to their identities, piloted the MOSAIC Mentoring Program this year to create a support system for new students of mixed heritage.
The pilot, suggested last spring, is meant to provide these students with a safe space, where mentors can help them transition into the Andover community both academicaly and emotionally.
“[Andover] is a big school, and so you might not necessarily connect right away with the Blue Key that’s assigned to you or the [prefect] on your hall. It is more generally about helping kids feel a level of being welcomed into the community and connecting with someone in particular that might share some life experiences,” says Aya Murata, faculty advisor of MOSAIC.
New students were invited to join the program in August before their arrival on campus. So far, four new students have been paired with members of MOSAIC for the Mentoring Program.
Because the pilot is still in its very first stages of development, contact between the mentors and their mentees has been at the mentors’ discretion. Mentors have regular meetings and exchange emails with their mentees.
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Read about the other support groups at Andover covered in this week’s issue, and stay tuned for an exploration of religious affinity groups next week.
– [Outliers Book Club](http://www.phillipian.net/articles/2014/10/17/outliers-book-club)
– [AMP Mentoring](http://www.phillipian.net/articles/2014/10/17/amp-mentoring)
– [Post-Graduate Support Program](http://www.phillipian.net/articles/2014/10/17/post-graduate-support-program)
– [New Upper Support Program](http://www.phillipian.net/articles/2014/10/17/new-upper-support-program)
– [The Sisterhood](http://www.phillipian.net/articles/2014/10/17/sisterhood)
– [GLP Mentoring Program](http://www.phillipian.net/articles/2014/10/17/glp-mentoring-program)
– [The Brotherhood](http://www.phillipian.net/articles/2014/10/17/brotherhood)
