Date: Fri 12-Jan-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

mentorship-Vouros-McEvoy

Full Text:

Mentors: Teaching About Careers From The Inside Out

with cut

B Y St EVE B IGHAM

Newtown High School senior Stephanie Dorenbosch plans to study immunobiology

in college, so she's currently doing genetic research on diabetes with Dr

Maryanne Brown at Boehringer Ingelheim in Danbury.

"The other day my stepfather was complaining that all he got to do in high

school was stock shelves at the supermarket, and I'm doing DNA research," she

quipped.

Stephanie is one of 16 NHS seniors currently taking part in the school's

mentorship program, which was established last year to give students an

opportunity to learn first-hand what life is like in the field they hope to

pursue.

Across the country, schools are beginning to use the private sector, in

addition to textbooks and teachers, to help educate students. As one corporate

executive, "America's education revolution will come from the personal

involvement of parents, teachers, principals and the community - working

together to remove barriers of change."

Behind the work of facilitator Jane McEvoy, and middle school Discovery

teacher John Vouros, who volunteers for this initiative, the mentorship

program appears to be successful.

"It's truly an opportunity for the students to experience the joy of learning

because they chose what they want to study," Mr Vouros explained. "They molded

it."

"As a high school student, when do you ever get this kind of an opportunity?,"

asked Mrs McAvoy, the head of the NHS career center and the head of career

shadowing.

The second-year mentorship program, based on Jill Reilly's book Mentorship ,

is designed to give students a glimpse of a possible future for them. Each

student is assigned to come up with a project to be completed with the help of

his or her mentor.

The students will present their projects to parents, teachers, administrators

and mentors at two open houses February 26 and 28.

"When the mentors come to the presentations, they wind up being like a second

mother or father watching," Mr Vouros explained. "It's a big commitment for

the mentors, but it's worth it."

Nine of the mentors are from Newtown.

Both Mrs McEvoy and Mr Vouros are hoping the program will eventually be

expanded and become a regular part of the district's curriculum. Though the

program is receiving funding from the school district this year, Mr Vouros had

to solicit funds from local businesses on order to get it off the ground last

year. Superintendent of Schools John Reed said Newtown is taking a close look

at more on-site apprenticeship programs for the future.

"The program at the high school has a lot of compelling features," he noted.

"There's a lot of discussion across the country about seniors gaining

experiences beyond the walls of the schools."

In selecting students for the mentorship program, the search committee looked

for students who were serious about the career they wanted to pursue, those

students who had a strong grasp of their qualities and had an idea of how they

could use them in making a living.

Dr Laura Lasley of Newtown, a neonatologist at Danbury Hospital, is working

with Laura Giesen to check the hospital's protocol for the way it handles low

blood sugar for high birth weight babies.

"I think it's great," the doctor said. "It's a really nice program for kids to

get the feel of what it's like out there."

"We hope the program helps them find themselves," Mrs McEvoy said.

Another student involved in the program, Cheryl Bennett, is interested in

environmental studies and conservation. She is working with Martin Smith, the

director of the Roots & Shoots program at the Jane Goodall Institute in

Ridgefield. Their project is to create a program to help students become more

aware of the environment.

Sarah Cwikla, who plans to pursue a career in hematology and oncology, is

spending her mentorship with Dr Mary Voltz of Danbury Hospital. Sarah is

researching the link between nutrition and breast cancer.

Marissa Dent plans to get involved in international business and is working

with Jerry Deluccio, an executive with Cadbury Schweppes. Marissa is learning

how to develop an organization model to assist in the establishment of

values-based management within the company.

Molly Dorozenski, an aspiring creative writer and poet, is working

side-by-side with Brett Warren, a well known area freelance writer. She'll be

writing a collection of poems and presenting them.

Courtney Elf, wants to study musical composition,, and she is working with Dr

Kevin Isaacs, a composer and professor of music at Western Connecticut State

University. Courtney is composing her own music.

Jeffrey Fagen is learning more about chemical engineering by working with

Terry Hamilton, an engineer with Duracell in Bethel. His experiment will

compare the charge and drain rate of Duracell Alkaline Batteries and Zinc

Carbon batteries.

Julie Greene is seeking a career in fashion design and is learning the tricks

of the trade from Andrea Jovine, a designer in New York City. Julie is putting

together her own fashion line.

Curtis Hussarungsri, interested in mechanical engineering, is getting an

inside look at the field from Bob Rogers, the director of research and

development for Trident, Inc. in Brookfield. Curtis is designing and ordering

parts for an ink jet characterization station.

Kate Lukeris, who hopes to become a social worker, has Barbara-Warren Bonhiver

of Newtown Youth Services as a mentor. She's working to implement an AIDS

awareness project.

Elisabeth Macmillan is learning more about surgery with the help of Dr Phillip

Kotch, a general surgeon at Danbury Hospital. Elisabeth is observing gall

bladder surgery.

Seeking to learn more about the world of musical theater, Tracy Otwell is

working with actors Sean and Emily Hannon. Mr Hannon is the president of the

Westport Theater Workshop. Emily is learning about the business side of

musical theater and what it takes to succeed as an actress.

Caragh Reilly, who interested in becoming a veterinarian, is learning about

animal medicine from Dr Karin Harter at the Berkshire Veterinarian Hospital in

Newtown.

Gregory White is finding out more about the life of a chemical

engineer/computer science from Hazel Kruez of Union Carbide.

Kate Zimmerman hopes to someday become an aeronautical engineer, so she's

working alongside Linda Abramowicz-Reed of Hughes Optical in Danbury. She is

building a model of part of the Hubble Space Telescope.