Student/Partner Alliance
Submitted by Ann Kent
The Board of Student/Partner Alliance (S/PA), a Summit based non-profit, which supports low-income, urban high schools in the greater Newark and Jersey City areas is pleased to announce the completion of our first in person mentor/mentee event since the start of the pandemic. More than 50 students and 18 Partners and Mentors gathered together and shared stories face-to-face on a crisp fall day. While for some mentors and mentees, this was their first in person meeting, for juniors and seniors, there were happy reunions between mentors and mentees who had to rely on zoom conversations or texts to keep their relationship strong.
Margaret Momber, Executive Director of S/PA notes, “We are pleased to have been able to be back safely on St Benedict’s Prep campus on October 28th. To ensure the safety of our students and our mentors, and according to state regulations, we required proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test before admitting our mentors into the outdoor tent that St. Benedict’s Prep hosted us in. Personally, I was so excited to reconnect with my mentees in person for the first time in 18 months.”
Our traditional in-person mentoring program shifted to a virtual platform in 2020, and we have been using Zoom for our events. With the support of outside consultants, we continued to support our students throughout the pandemic, and we are continuing to operate in a hybrid fashion. This fall, we held virtual student and mentor orientation and held a virtual college preparatory information session in November.
S/PA Board Treasurer Chris Birosak notes, “Today’s student luncheon at St Benedict’s was amazing and a perfect example of why S/PA continues to be a positive influence on our sponsored students, not just financially but through mentorship as well.”
For more information about the Student/Partner Alliance visit studentpartneralliance.org.
