A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL OF MENTOR EXPERIENCES: PERCEPTIONS, STRATEGIES, AND OUTCOMES

To date, little is understood about the mentors’ experience of mentoring at‐risk youth. The current study sought to enrich this understanding by exploring how mentors within a structured mentoring community perceive their experience and determining what strategies they employ to optimally navigate their mentoring relationship. Due to the need to cultivate a deeper understanding, the present study utilized grounded theory methodology to uncover common themes within the experience. Data from focus group transcripts and written reflections of 123 mentors resulted in a comprehensive model of mentor experiences, including a largely positive experience in which mentors hold perceptions of themselves, their mentee, the mentoring relationship, and the mentoring program–Campus Corps: Therapeutic Mentoring for At‐Risk Youth. Mentors described a series of strategies utilized during the experience and described potential outcomes of mentoring youth. Results hold important implications for mentors and programs struggling to recruit, support, or sustain mentors.