The “Making Contact” mentorship program matches gifted and/or talented elementary school students (grades 4-7, ages 9-13) throughout the Vancouver School District with volunteer mentors to complete a project in an area of mutual passion.

• Vanessa is a 12 year old in grade 7 who has been interested in building and Lego since she was 6 and played with building blocks. She has taken a class in architecture and “Become an Engineer” in summer school. Vanessa wants to know what problems engineers face in real life and how to prepare for a career in engineering.  With a mentor she would like to design and build something useful such as a working simple machine or work with gears and pulley systems. A mentor would help her with the basics of physics applied to prevent catastrophic failures in buildings, and teach her the basics of mechanical and architectural engineering. Vanessa is a bright girl who gets the hang of things quickly, stays organized and works hard.

The mentor does not necessarily need to have experience in the industry – they could also be a senior undergrad student with co-op experience, grad student or faculty member in engineering.  Making Contact asks that the mentor spend a minimum of 10 hours with the student assisting with the making of their product by the end of June.

If you are interested in mentoring Vanessa please contact Teresa Milden at tmilden@vsb.bc.ca.

Anyone interested in the Making Contact program in general can find more information and sign up online at: www2.vsb.bc.ca/involved/MakingContact