Savvy Students Mentorship: Nurturing Tomorrow's Leaders Today
- Zoe Hausler
- Sep 26, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 12, 2023
My name is Zoe Hausler. I am a high school student at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and live in San Francisco, California. I recently founded Savvy Students, an online global mentorship program that strives to provide children all over the world with role models. I believe that providing children with positive guidance is a cardinal factor in future success and can lead to healthy choices and change-making. Child advocacy through mentorship is becoming increasingly relevant, given that it can not only improve one’s interpersonal skills and enhance one’s self-esteem, but it can also lead to healthy decision-making. This is reflected in the website Youth Mentor, which shares how students who regularly converse with their mentor are 52% less likely than other students to skip a day of school. 76% of vulnerable young adults who had the guidance of a mentor hope to attend college, compared to less than 50% of the susceptible kids who were mentorless.
Child advocacy became a prominent aspect of my life while going to a school where I have had the privilege of meeting so many people from around the U.S. and with international backgrounds. It has allowed me to understand pressing issues that many youth suffer from in the current day that go unnoticed. Children globally are underresourced in terms of healthcare, education, safety, and more. I aspire to give children all over the world the same kinds of opportunities and positive role models that I had growing up in my life. According to a Red Eye Initiative Program, 1 out of every 3 students do not have a trusted adult outside of their family that they are comfortable asking for guidance and advice.
In order to actively make the difference I desire, I have educated myself and acquired the tools necessary to understand and help the problem. This includes attending the National Children’s Alliance Conference, helping to lead a statewide advocacy summit, collaborating with three different children’s hospitals, and being an avid participant in the New Hampshire Student Leadership Mentor Program. I also completed a college course on child and family well-being. All these have allowed me to engage and focus on the physical and mental impacts of children who don’t have access to developing healthcare as a result of different socioeconomic backgrounds.
As seen by the American Psychological Association, one’s socioeconomic status can play a significant role in a child’s quality of life. This pertains to a higher likelihood of developing depression and anxiety, in addition to lower educational success rates and absences from school. Children from lower socioeconomic statuses are not as equipped with the resources necessary to thrive. These facts are further bolstered by the National Institutes of Health, which spotlights how children who come from lower social classes face obstacles regarding health, making it more difficult to have the amenities needed. This is palpable through scarce education opportunities, challenges with health insurance, and distrust of healthcare providers. As seen in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, insufficient health insurance coverage is a huge contributing obstacle to health care opportunities, in addition to unjust distribution of coverage. Low-income families that pay for these medical needs out-of-pocket might not seek the attention that needs to be given to their children. Many families with lower income are uninsured and are less likely to obtain proper treatments, dental help, vaccinations, and well-child visits that track developmental milestones. This problem spans more than just the United States, as children globally lack access to learning, as well as physical and mental health to support their needs.
The organization I founded is called Savvy Students. Do students and children know their rights and how to make good decisions? By creating relationships with older teens and mentors through Savvy Students, children around the world have the opportunity to feel their worth and be educated about the opportunities around them in areas like career advice, peer help, and health advocacy. A great way to attack the injustices that some children face with regard to health resources is by creating relationships with older students who can teach them how to use their voices and access their needs through education. I aspire to give many younger students the opportunity to have an older mentor who believes in them and wants them to find success in their endeavours.
In order to maximize our efforts and effects on children, Savvy Students stands for four pillars, namely,
Educate
Community
Opportunity
Bond
Educate: In order to be prolific with our goals, education is necessary to help provide children with the power they need to take a stand and form opinions. Many children around the world are illiterate. As referenced in the Save the Children movement, over 393 million children are unable to read and therefore don’t have access to the learning tools needed and are hindered from fulfilling their future.
Community: These problems reach global audiences and are in need of global awareness. By creating a global community of advocacy, we can reach more children and show them the power of a positive role model. This community enables a greater sense of self-worth and builds connections for children in the long term.
Opportunity: Children need new opportunities that they didn’t have before. We want to set up children to have a healthy and happy life going forward. By giving children the opportunity to read, learn, and converse with a mentor, we give them access to resources and knowledge that did not exist to them.
Bond: The relationships between a child and their mentor should be precious. The developing mind of a child is in need of someone good to look up to. When they have these positive influences in their life, it creates a bond that aids proper decision-making and overall determination going forward.
Savvy Students has incorporated a 6-step framework:
Step 1: Recognize the issue
Step 2: Utilize the amenities around you
Step 3: Support local and global agencies
Step 4: Build connections to get involved
Step 5: Spread awareness and advocacy
Step 6: Activate change legally and with the children
I have a website accessible to all called www.savvystudents.co. It allows students and children around the world to be partnered with an older mentor. Following the website, we will then utilize the 6-step framework to actively tackle the issues at hand. By spreading awareness and activating a sense of purpose, children are enabled to go into the world fully capable and confident of their abilities and communication skills.
All you have to do is set an example for the children who are struggling by becoming a role model and creating a real connection with a child who needs it. Many people understand the injustices that take place in children’s lives daily, but they don’t understand the extent and the ways to contribute to the solution. Whether it be through your fundraising, your time, or your talents, you can make a real impact on a child's life and show him or her you believe in them. Let’s be the change!
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