MONTEGO BAY, St James – The University of the West Indies’ Mona campus on Friday extended its 17-year-old mentorship programme to its campus in Western Jamaica, with an orientation session which saw a smattering of Montego Bay’s business community signing up.

The prospective mentors will, according to the terms of the programme, make themselves available for a mimimum of four hours per month, to one or more second-year students of UWI MONA’s Western Jamaica Campus for the rest of this academic year.

During the period which will serve as a pilot for the programme, mentors will expose their charges to the social scene and provide guidance as it relates to their ambitions.

“Mentorship takes many forms; it may be to just provide the mentoree with a saying that enables them to uncover an aspect of their ability that was dormant prior; it may be to take them to a tea party or a board meeting or any event that may help them better understand the world out there,” explained Dr Thelora Reynolds, Director of UWI MONA’s Office of Student Services and Development.

According to Reynolds, who explained the nuts and bolts of the programme at Friday’s orientation session, the programme which was piloted at UWI MONA in1993 has been extremely successful.

Pointing to Gleaner Managing director Oliver Clarke who signed up with the programme at its inception, she said his mentorees kept in touch with him from all over the world long after exiting the programme.

“He knows them all by name, down to the very hairstyle,” she said.

Among the prospective mentorees who have expressed an interest in joining he programme are:

*Tony Hart, businessman;

*Eugene Fflokes; retired engineer

*Barbara Smith, educator;

*Jacqueline Hamilton, attorney-at-law;

*Brian Jardim, businessman;

*Ray Therian, businessman;

*Wyley Sweeny, President of Rosehall Developments Limited;

*John Kearny, retired businessman

*Tony Bowen, Port Handlers Freeport

* Shane Chin, Toby’s resort.

Garfield Higgins, The Western Jamaica campus’ Student Services and Development Manager, said he expected that the pilot would be starting as soon as he recieved twenty commitments in writing.

“I have commitments from 6 individuals so far and I expect that we will start as soon as the others send in theirs,” he said.