Compass guides play pivotal roles in connecting the community to the University of California through mentorships and by establishing relationships with healthcare professionals and youth in the area.
Guides act as role models for and provide safe relationships with younger students, known as explorers, and advocate for their best interests. Guides also help the community by investing time and energy into the community's well-being.
A great guide will observe and supervise activities and provide clear guidance and suggestions rather than solutions.
Through weekly modules that help explorers immerse themselves in environments where problem-solving is necessary, guides can expect to act as mentors, but are not expected to provide solutions or answers for the explorers.
Modules help students explore issues in their communities that they can help address. These weekly meetings also assist the explorers in learning more about themselves and how they approach challenging problems with the supervision of guides. It is essential for guides to make sure their explorers know they have help if they need it, but that you are not going to do the work for them. Guides are essentially the glue that bridges the UC to the next generations of leaders in the community, mainly addressing issues in public health that are obvious in Merced's rural areas.
In Compass, students explore the career possibilities in the health care field. As a guide, you could be helping inspire future doctors, nurses, therapists, and other vital members of the health care community.
You and your explorers will interact with local professionals at events you have organized! Such events are great opportunities for guides to do some networking, too!
