Anna Janowski

Professor Stewart
ENC 3331
February 21, 2016
Campaign Proposal
Adolescence is a crucial stage of development for any human being. Teenagers
are faced with figuring out who they are, how their bodies are changing, and how to
handle mature situation. In order to help troubled youth struggling with such issues,
mentoring programs have been setup across the country. There are many types of
mentoring programs and organizations available to assist troubled youth, which can be
mutually beneficial for mentor and mentee, and have seen success when implemented at
college campuses across the United States. While the University of Central Florida has
seen instances of individuals successfully mentoring troubled youth, there are no campus
organizations that currently exist to establish mentorship.
With this in mind, I would like to focus my civic engagement campaign on
proposing the establishment of a mentorship organization that will be affiliated with the
University of Central Florida, allowing its students to engage with the youth in their
communities. I have specifically chosen the group Women and Youth Supporting Each
Other (WYSE) for my campaign. This particular mentorship organization focuses on
young women helping troubled or at risk adolescent girls in their areas. WYSE stood out
to me for three main reasons: it has been successful at major universities across the
nation, the difficulties associated with growing up female in a male-dominant culture, and
the fact that I can personally see myself contributing to the cause.

Jankowski 2
The main focus of WYSE and their mentorship aims to foster positive

relationships that will hopefully encourage changes in communities. Each female college
student in the program is matched with an adolescent girl that is considered at risk or
troubled. By creating committed relationship with the girls, each college student provides
their mentee with a safe community to discuss ideas and encourage critical thinking and
positive self-image. Providing a safe environment for troubled youth is important as this
allows them develop important social and decision making strategies that will help them
later on in life. Mentors provide their mentees with opportunities and information that
some girls may not have access to. Many of the girls chosen to participate come from low
income or broken families that may now have the time or resources that many privileged
college students do. The mentors become positive role models for young girls at a time
that can be very turbulent, particularly when growing up in what may not be the most
favorable environment.
WYSE mentors are expected to foster development of confidence and positive
decision-making for girls that would otherwise not have the chance to develop.
Adolescent girls are taught how to make safe choices concerning issues such as
relationships, eating disorders, body image, and even birth control or sexuality. Mentor
support is hoped to encourage young girls to also contribute to the rest of the community.
Mentors are encouraged to participate in community events with their mentee to show
young girls the importance of passing on the values of civic engagement. WYSE believes
that the individuals impacted by such activities will be inspired to share their experiences
and lessons with others.

Jankowski 3
Each meeting and activity, whether in be one-on-one or in a group, is designed to

show troubled adolescent youth their potential if they make good choices. The mentor
helps their mentee stay on track to positive social and academic development that will be
instrumental in the building if the mentees future. Again, most of the mentees involved
have grown up in troubled homes and potentially hostile environments. Without the help
of mentors, many adolescent girls would lack certain knowledge that could help them
build a better life for themselves.
The organization has been successful at universities such as Yale and Stanford,
giving their students and communities to learn from each other. Implementing WYSE at
UCF will give young women at the school and opportunity to become civically engaged
in a unique manner that can have a tremendous impact on the lives of those who need a
helping hand the most. However, research will need to be done to determine potential
success of WYSE at UCF. I will need to find out how many women at UCF would be
interested in participating in WYSE. I will also have to figure out which areas of Orlando
have the best potential mentees. Certain middle schools will have a higher need for
mentorship programs and it is important that I focus on the right school district. Once
potential districts are chosen, I will also have to find out if those schools are interested in
implementing WYSE in partnership with UCF. I intend to use surveys and interviews to
find the information necessary for my proposal. If all goes well, my end product for the
campaign would be a proposal to the Organization of Student Involvement to implement
WYSE at UCF.