Become a Mentor
Being an Explore Austin Mentor is a six-year, ongoing volunteer experience with youth in 6th-12th grades, with a commitment of one Saturday per month during the academic year and one week in the summer.
Make a Difference
Being a Mentor with Explore Austin allows you to make a difference in the lives of Austin youth, whom we call “Explorers,” the majority of whom are underrepresented in the outdoor-adventure space.
Teams are made up of five Mentors and 15 Explorers. Each Explorer spends 1,300+ hours over the course of the free, six-year program with their Mentors and fellow teammates. As a Mentor, you’ll also join a strong network of 100+ Explore Austin Mentors and Mentor Alumni. Our Mentors are caring, responsible adults who model courage and a spirit of adventure for their team’s Explorers. They also facilitate leadership and social-emotional learning activities and discussions during programming.
Prerequisites & Commitment
Caring, responsible adults
(age 21+)
who model leadership, courage and a spirit of adventure for youth in 6th-12th grades
Six-year commitment
If selected as a Mentor for a new team; if selected to backfill an open Mentor position, year(s) of commitment will vary
Commit to one Saturday
per month
During the school year (called Saturday Challenges)
Commit to a weeklong SWT
Summer Wilderness Trips occur each May, June or July, most of which are out of state
Background check
$18, required with application
Whether the conversations are big and life changing or small and seemingly insignificant, I know that the mentees in our program are learning to make decisions and set a path for their own lives. My team is still young and has many years left in the program. I’m looking forward to the adventures we will have, as we continue growing together.
How to Apply
Step 1
Confirm you meet the above requirements (Prerequisites & Commitments).
During recruitment season, skip to Step 3 to complete the Mentor Application!
Step 2
If Mentor Applications aren’t live, fill out the Mentor Interest Form. You will then be notified when the Mentor Application officially opens.
Filling out the Mentor Interest Form at any point in the year will also allow you to apply to become a substitute Mentor (“sub Mentor”), even outside the official Mentor application period.
Step 3
Fill out the Mentor Application, and complete a background check along with your application.
NOTE: Mentor applications for 2025 closed on September 30, 2024. Please fill out the Mentor Interest Form to be notified when recruitment for 2026 begins.
Questions?
Contact Anitra Edwards, Program Manager, at anitra.edwards@exploreaustin.org or (512) 320-8899.
Mentors learn alongside their mentees – no previous experience required!
Mentors have the opportunity to learn a variety of outdoor disciplines and skills taught by Explore Austin’s Trip Leader staff, including:
Hiking & Backpacking
Camping
Canoeing
Navigation
Mountain Biking
Rock Climbing & Rappelling
The average Mentor to Explorer ratio is 3:1.
Our Method
Saturday Challenges and Summer Wilderness Trips afford Explorers the opportunity for leadership development and social-emotional learning (SEL) through experiential outdoor education. Mentors facilitate SEL discussions using evidence-based curriculum from the Search Institute to help Explorers gain self-awareness and interpersonal skills.
Saturday
Challenges
Saturday Challenges are in local natural areas and include activities such as backpacking, paddling, rock climbing, mountain biking, swimming, navigation and wilderness medicine.
Explorers learn more advanced skills each year, building confidence and strengthening overall wellbeing. One Saturday Challenge a year is a volunteer project focused on environmental stewardship.
Summer
Wilderness Trips
SWTs are annual, week-long excursions to premier backcountry destinations across the country where Explorers apply the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout the year.
Last summer, our newest Explorers traveled to Texas’ Colorado Bend State Park while more experienced teams explored mountains, rivers and hiking and biking trails in Arkansas, New Mexico, Utah and Idaho. For many of our youth, these trips represent their first experience traveling away from home and their families, and their first time on a plane or out of state.
Results
Explore Austin produces a pipeline of youth who are poised to become leaders within their spheres of influence. Over the course of six years, an Explorer spends 1,100 hours or more in nature mastering a variety of outdoor skills under the guidance of committed, caring Mentors and Trip Leaders. That proficiency, combined with social-emotional learning and our leadership approach, gives youth the tools and surety to teach others the skills they have learned, broadening the reach of our program. Explore Austin’s program helps youth pursue their own versions of success and enables them to envision possibilities beyond their current circumstances.