The field trip is a chance for the children to bond with their mentors from the Compass 2 Campus program, which sends trained Western students to mentor and be role models in schools to illustrate the importance of higher education.

The day is personalized to the student’s interest. They get to see what college classrooms and laboratories look like, and many professors have opened their doors to the students.

The fifth grade students who toured campus last year now work with student mentors from Western as sixth-graders.

They will continue this relationship throughout their time in public school, and as the program grows, it will serve thousands of students from fifth through 12th grade.

Two additional schools, Lummi Nation School and Fisher Elementary in Lynden, have joined the program this year.

The program, which was launched in 2009 with the help of a Work Study grant from the Higher Education Coordinating Board, includes 12 local elementary schools and four community and technical colleges.  Funding comes primarily from private sources.

More than 300 Western students are enrolled in the three-credit class that allows them to be a Compass 2 Campus mentor. Many who have already taken the class continue to mentor as volunteers.

Mentors must spend at least four hours a week in schools, working where teachers see fit. They focus on encouraging pursuit of higher education.