Celebrating iMentor Bay Area’s Inaugural Year

It’s official, iMentor is now bicoastal, improving college success rates from the east coast to the west coast and points in between.

iMentor Bay Area officially launched its inaugural program year in Oakland and San Jose. With more than 260 students matched with mentors at Aspire Lionel Wilson College Prep and James Lick High School, our largest school partner yet, this year has come out of the (golden) gates strong. The Oakland and San Jose launches were a community effort at its best. iMentor received more than 600 mentor applications in the Bay Area.

To celebrate, iMentor Bay Area and national partner Citi hosted a community event at the schools on December 5 and December 7. Our team addressed the energized crowds, which included new mentors, future mentors and a legion of community supporters, sharing their excitement to work with the schools, the cities and community members, and leaders.

Sam Liccardo, mayor of San Jose, joined the festivities at James Lick High School. Before the December 5 event, Mayor Liccardo expressed his pleasure in welcoming iMentor to the Bay Area. “[Your] work aligns with our efforts to ensure all San Jose students have the support they need on the critical pathway to and through college, while also providing residents with additional opportunities to give back to their community” Mayor Liccardo said.

Education Director David Silver represented Oakland’s mayor, Libby Schaaf, at the Aspire Lionel Wilson College Prep event on December 7. Thrilled to partner with iMentor, Mayor Schaaf believes that our “… proven model provides key supports to students on the pathway to and through college, aligning with our cradle to career initiative, the Oakland Promise, and its goal of tripling the number of college graduates from Oakland within a decade.”

Congratulations to our Bay Area team! You can see all the photos from our San Jose event and our Oakland event by going to our Flickr page.