Director Maureen J. Quinn uses the word “awesome” a lot when she talks about the non-profit organization, ScienceMentors, and no wonder. The “one-to-one” agency matches high school students with a specific mentor with the goal of developing self-esteem and competency. The results are, well, awesome.

A look at a few of the current mentors participating in the project is a clue to the fact that something very special is going on here. They include people like Karen Reeds, a published medical historian and museum curator; physicist Phil Duran, who has been helping students with projects in envirophysics for over ten years; neurobiologist Jon Hayashi, a 12 year veteran; and chemical engineer Nora Kashinsky, who has clocked 13 years. Although the volunteers are assigned on a year-to-year basis, the success of the relationship often results in second and third projects together, as well continuous contact in years to come. Ms. Kashinsky, for example, has the distinction of having walked one of her students down the aisle at their wedding.

In addition to their backgrounds, a noteworthy fact about the mentors is that they are all volunteers — as is Ms. Quinn. ScienceMentors evolved out of an earlier Mercer county-based program that provided Ms. Quinn and two staff members with salaries, but then, she said, “the unthinkable happened,” and then-governor Jon Corzine “canceled grant requests.”

On a happier note, President Barack Obama recently proclaimed January 2012 as National Mentoring Month. “Every day, mentors help young Americans face the challenges of growing into adulthood,” said the president. “By setting a positive example and sharing their time, knowledge, and experience, mentors play an essential role in preparing our Nation’s youth for a bright future. During National Mentoring Month, we celebrate the contributions of all those who cultivate a supportive environment for the next generation, and we recommit to expanding mentorship opportunities across our country.”

In ScienceMentors, advisors develop research topics with students and meet with them once a week seeing them to fruition. ScienceMentors celebrates the completion of all projects at a Spring Fair; students are also encouraged to enter their work in the Mercer Science and Engineering Competition. To ensure that they become authoritative in their respective areas, each student is also asked to prepare and teach a lesson based on their research for an elementary school class. There are field trips to research laboratories; an added boon this year is the participation of two physicists from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

“In a word, this program is brilliant,” said mentor Matt Kiefer. “It encourages students to embrace science and life in a new way. The process involves asking questions, making hypotheses, research and discovery, and coming to a conclusion. It promotes a unique transformation.”

Among the credos guiding mentors and students is the notion that “failure is not an option,” and the belief that “I have not come to teach you; I have come to love you and love will teach you.” The latter does not at all translate into involving oneself in students’ personal lives. “I tell mentors not to worry about their mentorees’ home life,” said Ms. Quinn. “If a young person succeeds, the resulting self-esteem will take care of the rest.” Mentors help students pursue internships and summer workshops, and coaching support is available for students getting ready for college. Right now, the program focuses on promising students enrolled in Trenton High School.

ScienceMentor projects are typically based on real-life issues, with an emphasis on environmental concerns. Recent research examined the environmental impact of mining; the potential of seawater greenhouses to increase the supply of potable water in the world; the presence of antimocrobial properties in saliva; and the most efficient way to produce hydrogen from water and sunlight. Others asked if there is “a way to convert human effort into usable electric power”; whether “algae, as an alternate fuel source, provide sufficient, affordable amounts of energy to replace our dependence on oil”; and if a solar-powered process can be created “to provide a stable supply of virus-free water.”

Despite a cadre of returning mentors (some of whom began the program as students), Ms. Quinn reported a constant need for new ones. Right now, there are 15 teams; she would “be glad to go to 30,” and there are “capable students” currently on the waiting list. Mentors, who often move on themselves to new educational and business opportunities as a result of the program, do not have to have a science background, Ms. Quinn noted. The quality she looks for is “faithfulness.”

For more information visit www.sciencementors.org.