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Mentor Program

SAASS Academic Mentors are part of the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) and serve as a liaison between assigned student-athletes and their SAASS Academic Counselor. The Mentor Program provides a proactive approach to assist student-athletes in adjusting to and balancing college life, academics, and athletics. The goals are to foster independent learning through various skill-building activities, such as time management, organization, and goal setting. The focus of the program is to encourage student-athletes to think critically about their short-term academic coursework while learning skills and strategies to become independent learners that will ensure long-term academic success.

Obtaining a Mentor

Request a Mentor in Navigate
How to Request a Mentor in Navigate (PDF)

Student-athletes can also obtain a Mentor by:

Email the Mentor Coordinator

OR

Contact your SAASS Academic Counselor

  • Please include in your request, your availability for the session, and the anticipated frequency of sessions for each week.
  • You will receive notification that your request has been accepted and the Mentor Coordinator will begin to work on matching your request with a Mentor.
  • Once your request has been matched, you will receive confirmation for a date, time, and room number for the Mentor session.
  • If none of the Mentors on staff can meet a student-athlete’s schedule, the Mentor Coordinator will work to hire additional Mentors to meet the needs.

If you are unable to attend a mentor appointment for any reason, please provide notification to the Mentor Coordinator.

ALL cancellations need to be made at least 24 hours in advance. To cancel, send an email to the Mentor Coordinator and CC your SAASS Academic Counselor.

Tips for Mentor Appointments

  • Have an agenda for what you would like to work on each session with the Mentor.
    • Mentors are experts at organization, time management, planning, and academic skill building.
  • Plan in advance when possible. If you are unable to meet with the Mentor for any reason, provide notification to the Mentor Coordinator or your SAASS Academic Counselor at least 5 hours in advance of the session.
  • All SAASS mentoring sessions are conducted in the Quillen Family Academic Center for Student-Athletes located in Lane Stadium on the 3rd floor.

Becoming a Mentor

Apply via Handshake

If you are interested in joining the SAASS staff as a part-time Mentor, please find the Academic Mentor position posting via Handshake and submit your application on that platform. The Mentor Coordinator will then be notified and review the materials submitted.

SAASS Academic Mentors must:

  • Be a graduate student at Virginia Tech with at least a 3.0 GPA
  • Commit to being an Academic Mentor for at least one semester
  • Have strong written, oral communication, organization, and computer skills
  • Be able to work effectively with individuals from diverse educational, cultural, and economic backgrounds
  • Preferably have a broad range of availability to provide the best chances of matching with student-athletes

Please email the Mentor Coordinator with any questions or for more information.