About This Project

This winter, mentees at Lower East Side Preparatory High School wrote, rehearsed, and recorded brief oral histories as one of their iMentor curriculum projects. In these recordings, mentees speak about their experiences immigrating and assimilating to the United States, attending a largely immigrant high school, enrolling in the iMentor program, and developing a relationship with their mentor. These recordings allow mentors, classmates, friends, and relatives in far away countries to hear these impressive stories in the mentees' own words (and voices). For some, these recordings will stand as a testament to just how far the mentees English speaking and writing skills have progressed.

A Word From the iMentor Instructor, MeiLing Tse

This project could not have been completed without the guidance and support from MeiLing Tse, the iMentor Instructor at LESP. She also wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the mentors who volunteered for the program. In her own words:

"I believe that my students are more positive minded, hopeful and confident individuals as a result of mentoring. Mentors are encouraging and sensitive to students’ needs. Every one of my students has expressed fear or shyness in writing and speaking to an English speaking stranger. “What if my mentor can’t understand my English?” was a common question of concern among my students whose first language isn’t English. However, by the middle of the term I can tell that my students are more self-assured in the ideas that they express and the way in which they express themselves."

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