Middle school students aren’t the only ones who benefit from the Johnson City Mentor Program, program coordinators said.

According to Meg Mitzel, the experiential education coordinator for the Career Development Center, Binghamton University students who participate in the mentor program are rewarded from working with the children. They gain social skills, learn to listen and experience acting as a role model for children, she said.

The JC Mentor program works in conjunction with the Johnson City School District to tutor local middle school students. BU students who sign up for the program are required to mentor five hours a week — 50 hours total for the semester — and attend a weekly seminar, as well as other scheduled meetings.

The program is worth two credits for any students who participate. It was developed by the CDC in 1997.

Mitzel said the program was a win-win situation for volunteers.

“It helps the middle school students,” Mitzel said. “But the Binghamton students also benefit from it.”

Another program requirement is that all participating students must either own a car or be able to secure a ride. There is no bus service from the University to Johnson City Middle School.

Lauren Sege, assistant coordinator for the JC Mentor program, said she signed up to become a mentor because she knew it could offer a rewarding experience.

“The experience ended up being something that I will take with me for the rest of my life,” Sege, a senior human development and sociology major, said. “Any student, whether they’re an engineering major or a nursing major, can benefit from this program.”

As coordinator, Sege acts as a liaison between Johnson City School District administrators, BU students and Johnson City Middle School students. She also instructs and supervises the BU mentors, plans various activities and events between the mentors and their mentees, and recruits new mentors each semester.

“The students that we work with become our friends; they idolize us and they really cherish our friendship,” Sege said. “It’s probably one of the most rewarding experiences that most of us will ever go through.”

Johnson City mentoring is the only BU program that offers tutoring experience in a classroom setting.

“It’s the small victories that each child makes,” Sege said, “that allows the experience to be so rewarding.”

David Parisi, a graduate student majoring in social work, said he would encourage anyone who feels like making a difference in somebody’s life to participate.

“Those participating currently may not feel like they have an impact, but down the line, small things like this is what the kids will remember and base their future on,” he said.