How might we create a mentorship model that supports youth in a way that feels relevant, accessible, and grounded in their reality?
Problem
While working on local community non-profit projects, we saw a troubling pattern: youth were disengaging from school, turning to unsafe environments, and losing sight of post-secondary opportunities. Having grown up around the same barriers, I recognized the urgent need for mentorship, guidance, and accessible support systems.
Project Overview
Solution
Impact
I designed and launched a mentorship program that paired high school students with mentors aligned to their goals and interests. I recruited both mentors and mentees through targeted outreach, conducted interviews to understand their needs, and structured the program to include one-on-one sessions, group activities, and community gatherings.
The mentorship program became a catalyst for community-driven change in the Thorncliffe Park neighbourhood. With structured documentation and reflection, we created a scalable framework that amplified youth voices and laid the foundation for long-term impact.
The Design Process
Phase 1: Recruiting and Understanding Participant Needs
The Challenge:
Many youth in the community were becoming disconnected from school, leading to limited motivation and fewer options for the future.
Without consistent guidance, they were at risk of turning to unsafe or unproductive environments that reinforced existing barriers.
A lack of visible role models and accessible support networks left many unsure of how to navigate pathways to higher education or meaningful careers.
The Opportunity:
The mentorship program was an opportunity to give youth consistent guidance and access to role models who understood their challenges. It created a space where they could stay engaged in school, build confidence, and explore real pathways toward post-secondary education and careers. More importantly, it offered a sustainable support system that could continue to benefit the community beyond the life of the program.
Identify mentors and mentees, and learn about their interests, goals, and personalities through informal interviews.
The Approach
Phase 4: Build Scalable Structure Through Workshops
Phase 3: Pilot and Iterate Program
Match participants thoughtfully, providing guidance and resources to set expectations and build trust from the start
Phase 2: Matching Mentor and Mentee’s
Test activities and meeting structures with the first cohort, adjusting based on feedback to maximize impact and engagement.
Use workshops to formalize processes, create guidelines, and define measurable outcomes for future cohorts.
Phase 1: Recruiting and Understanding the Participants
When I set out to design the mentorship program, I knew success hinged on more than just pairing people together, and would ultimately depend on understanding the mentees and the struggles they face on a deeper level.
I recruited mentors and mentees through targeted networks, focusing on alignment with the program’s purpose. For high school mentees, I skipped the traditional sign-up sheet and held informal group conversations to hear about their aspirations and interests and get a feel for their personalities. I also spoke to elders, community leaders, and teachers to understand systemic barriers and broaden my perspective.
Upon holding informal interviews with different community stakeholders, I began to affinity map my findings. I broke down community insight into 3 groups:
Systemic barriers
Insights from community leaders
What incentives mentees would receive if they joined.
Affinity mapping to structure findings supported us in translating raw feedback into actionable categories for program improvement.
Phase 2: Matching Mentors and Mentees
Matching wasn’t left to chance. Using what I learned from the interviews, I paired mentees with mentors whose skills, personalities, and experiences aligned.
Some questions we asked mentors during the screening process included:
“What skills or areas of knowledge are you most excited to teach a mentee?”
“How do you approach giving guidance to others, especially when they may disagree with your perspective?”
To ensure the program stayed relevant and impactful, we held regular feedback sessions with mentees where they could openly share their experiences, challenges, and suggestions. These conversations allowed us to identify what was working, where adjustments were needed, and quickly implement changes. By iterating in real time, we were able to create a program that felt responsive, supportive, and tailored to the evolving needs of the students.
Mentee Journey Map: Visualizing the key phases of the program experience.
Mentee feedback session: Engaged mentees in a design thinking exercise to capture their perspectives and ideas.
Phase 3: Piloting and Iterating the Program
During the pilot phase, I tested mentor-mentee matches through both one-on-one and group activities, including dinners, park outings, and informal gatherings. I observed interactions, gathered feedback, and refined the program structure, prompts, and resources to ensure relationships were meaningful and engaging. Iteration was continuous, allowing the program to adapt to participants’ needs and foster lasting connections.
Outcomes:
Refined program framework: Updated session structures, prompts, and activity guides based on observed interactions and participant feedback.
Pilot insights report: Documented learnings from one-on-one and group activities, highlighting engagement patterns, gaps, and opportunities for scaling the program
Cricket match between mentor and mentee as part of a bonding activity.
Phase 4: Building Scalable Structure Through Workshops
The program structure was shaped by the input and preferences of both mentors and mentees. Together, they decided that monthly one-on-one meetups worked best for individualized guidance, with each session contributing to a shared log tracking goals, actions, career mapping, and progress, while also providing feedback to program coordinators.
Building on this, we implemented quarterly group workshops where all participants come together around themed activities, fostering community, skill-building, and shared reflection.
By combining ongoing individual engagement with periodic collective sessions, the program became a flexible, participant-informed framework that supports measurable progress and continuous iteration.
Monthly Mentor Reflections: To be completed during or after each one-on-one session.
Key Takeaways
Working on the mentorship program reminded me how much impact comes from really knowing the people you’re designing for. Taking the time to understand each mentee and match them thoughtfully with mentors showed me that strong relationships are built on trust and shared goals. Piloting the program taught me to stay flexible, and letting participants shape the experience led to more meaningful engagement. Running workshops to formalize the structure reinforced how important it is to turn lived experiences into processes that can scale.
Given More Time:
I would develop a more robust set of workshops and resources for mentors, giving them tools to support different learning styles and challenges, ensuring every mentee gets the most out of their experience.
Ultimately, the pilot reinforced that listening, empathy, and iterative refinement are as critical in people-centered programs as they are in digital design.