CC Students Mentor Local Middle School Boys

While the CC North Boys Enrichment Program is aimed at mentoring boys from North Middle School, located just east of campus, it has done so much more than that. From providing solid mentorship to building lasting relationships, the club has benefitted both the CC and North Middle School students.

“Our collaboration with North Middle School is incredible,” says Ben Curry ’25, an Environmental Studies major and co-chair of the club. “Ms. Rockie and Mr. Lohman are the leaders of the club at North, and help with recruitment, attendance, and motivation for the students in the club. We currently have 19 boys from North signed up for the club, and over 20 CC students participating. The boys commit to being in the club for the academic year and foster a consistent relationship with their assigned CC mentors. Each meeting begins by picking up the students from North, and walking them to the CC campus. Here, we have a different fun activity planned for each session.”

The activities vary, and have included ice skating at Ed Robson Arena, doing arts and crafts at Bemis School of Art, playing field and board games, and rock climbing.

“Most of this time is spent just chatting with the boys about their day at school, their hobbies, or their friends and family,” says co-chair Marin Snyder ’26, a Molecular Biology major. “The goal of this club is to make coming to school more exciting and to provide some sort of stability for their lives.”

“I have run into many parents since the program has been around and they have thanked me many times over for this program and allowing their student to participate,” says Roxanne Chisei, who goes by Ms. Rockie and who was working as a behavior interventionist when she was put in charge of the program at North. “I had one parent tell me that they would have a hard time getting their kiddo to school except when it came to every other Wednesday, the day we would have our meetings. Also, if they had a sibling or cousin in the program, I would always make room for them. When school starts up every year, the boys are always asking me or Mr. Lohman when the program is going to start back up. We also have a waiting list every year. One thing is for sure, it would not be as successful without the help from all the wonderful Colorado College student mentors that have volunteered throughout the years.”

The club meets with the North boys on the first and third Wednesday of each block for about two hours. Each middle schooler is assigned a CC student to serve as his mentor throughout the academic year, and ideally throughout the mentee’s middle school career. Though each North boy is assigned one CC student to serve as his mentor, the enrichment sessions are in groups, so the middle schoolers interact with all the CC students. The mentoring and connection between mentor and mentee occurs both through planned get-to-know-you sessions, as well as during activities, dinner together on campus, and their walks to and from North Middle School.

“This club truly provides an incredible impact to the member students at North Middle School,” says Curry. “Many of the North students participating in the club are experiencing poverty, living in temporary residences and overcrowded spaces. A meal free of charge at Rastall Dining Hall allows the boys to eat a healthy, filling dinner before returning home and community with classmates is fostered through the extracurricular activities they participate in each day. Having a mentor, separate from their classmates and teachers, presents a unique space for the boys to learn and grow, as well as to come to trust their mentor.”

The club doesn’t have a specific curriculum, and instead focuses on whatever topics are important to the boys at any given meeting. The co-chairs say the emphasis of the club is giving the boys a consistent person to talk to if they need support, as well as giving them fun activities to look forward to. The activities the co-chairs pick are designed to provide new experiences for the middle school boys.

“We get a range of different backgrounds amongst the North students, but trend towards those on the lower end of the socioeconomic system,” says Curry, who joined the club last year. “Throughout the year, their assigned CC mentor functions as a support system, role model, and motivator during our sessions. Our goal is to create a space in the week that the boys look forward to, feel safe during and through which they can create lasting memories with their peers and CC mentors. Each meeting has a different activity, aimed at engaging the students and allowing them to expand their horizons trying new activities. For example, most recently we took the students ice skating at Ed Robson Arena. For many of the boys, it was their first time skating, and they were full of smiles and giggles the whole time.”

The club is always looking for new experiences for the middle school boys. Last year, the co-chairs worked with Jeremiah Houck, Assistant Director of Bemis, to arrange for two pottery and painting sessions. They spent the first meeting allowing the boys to learn about and get comfortable with pottery and form their clay structures. The clay structures were then fired, and the boys spent the next meeting painting their pottery.

“This allowed the boys to see a different part of campus and to do an activity that was more creative and artistic than our usual activities,” says Snyder, who also joined the club last year. “Jeremiah’s lesson was very informative and taught all of them a new skill that they might otherwise not have learned.”

The club is continuing to work with Hook and Bemis Director Tara Thomas this year to provide more artmaking experiences for the middle schoolers.

One of Snyder’s favorite sessions was during their final meeting last spring, when they took the boys bowling to celebrate the end of the academic year. The boys played arcade games, won tickets, and had a great time with their mentors.

“Another one of my favorite moments was sitting in Rastall with my mentee and just listening to him make jokes and tell me about his day at school,” she says. “He was super animated when he was telling me stories and genuinely seemed excited to be talking with me.”

North Boys also works with many other campus partners to bring new and exciting experiences to the boys, including the CC Farm and the Ritt Kellogg Climbing Gym.

“Our goal as club facilitators is to help share joy from some of the spaces that we have enjoyed at CC with our mentees,” Curry says. At the beginning of the year, the co-chairs work with their campus partners to arrange dates and availability and to coordinate activities ahead of time, giving the boys the best opportunities possible.

This is the third year that co-chair Megan O’Brien ’25 has been involved with North Boys. She has a background in special education and behavioral management and wanted to continue this work while at CC.

“In the spring of my sophomore year, the two co-chairs asked me and one other girl if we would be interested in applying for leadership next year,” says O’Brien, an Environmental Studies major and Studio Art and Classics minor. “We both said yes and then spent the summer planning for the upcoming year. We both wanted to use our experience in the club to improve the experience for other students. One issue that was consistent during our time as mentors was the lack of male mentors. All the middle schoolers are male identifying, and we only had one male identifying mentor from CC my first year. Going into the next year, we aimed to increase gender diversity in the club and were successful. Not only did we achieve this, but we also doubled the number of mentors which meant double the number of kids. We went from 10 to 22. On top of this our budget was cut in half. Going into this year we were looking for consistency. My co-chair and I recognized that we needed more people to help us. She graduated and so I brought in three new people, each with specific roles. I have adopted more of an advising role this year with the goal of keeping North Boys strong after I graduate!”

The North Boys Enrichment Program was founded in 2002. It is the second longest standing club at CC and membership increases each year. There are currently 23 CC students who serve as mentors to the boys. At the beginning of the school year, the CC students participate in a training with the principal of North Middle School and become mandatory reporters.

“I believe North Boys is a wonderful way for CC students to make an impact on the surrounding community, have a lasting impact on an individuals’ life, and feel more connected to other CC students,” O’Brien says.

The co-chairs agree that mentoring the boys is an incredible experience for them as well as for the boys.

“This program has touched so many of our North Boys lives,” Ms. Rockie says. “I cannot thank Colorado College enough for everything they have done for our boys. This includes the lead mentors that decide what we do at the meetings to the mentors that hang out with the boys, the food service workers at Rastall that serve our boys dinner, and to our super awesome CC bus drivers that give our boys a ride home. I just can’t say enough good things about Colorado College!”

For more information on The North Boys Enrichment Program, email Marian Snyder or Kate McDermott.