Fostering youth civic engagement through effective mentorship: Understanding the college student volunteer mentors who succeed

College student volunteers play a critical role in many school‐based educational programs and can foster valuable near‐peer relationships with adolescents, yet how to best select these volunteers has been understudied. We studied college student volunteer mentors for Generation Citizen, a non‐profit that provides school‐based action civics education programming, and their adolescent students. We identify three common characteristics possessed by the strongest college mentors. Participants were nine college volunteer mentors (67% female; 78% White); these mentors worked in pairs (and one trio) in four different classrooms. Using an action research approach, we conducted semistructured interviews, surveys, and classroom observations to generate quantitative and qualitative data. Effective mentors were: person‐oriented, emphasizing the mentor‐student connection; aligned with the organization's mission; and constantly honing their craft of mentorship. We recommend college volunteer programs select applicants for positions based on these key indicators to foster mission‐driven and motivating educational programming.