Lead a Garden/STEM Club for Alder Kids & PSU Mentors: Become a 2026-27 Eco-Explorers Mentor Team Lead!

Spanish-Speakers: Are you passionate about education, youth mentorship, and supporting a team of PSU students working with elementary school students on STEM Education and Social/Emotional learning through a youth garden club? Step up as a Team Lead for the 2026-2027 school year -- and gain a $600/term leadership scholarship* in the process!

The Student Community Engagement Office is seeking enthusiastic Spanish-speaking applicants for this "Team Lead" position to support and lead a team of peers to continue a new English/Spanish garden/STEM club started by PSU students at Alder Elementary School this past year, helping kids develop science, math, and social-emotional skills through hands on activities in and outside of the garden!

The information you provide in this application will be useful for the Student Community Engagement Center in selecting Team Leads for the 2026-2027 academic year. Please read through the position details below and provide as much information as possible in your application.

About the MAPS Program & the Team Lead Role:

Since 2010-2011, Portland State has partnered with Greater Than and Alder Elementary to match college student mentors with elementary students as part of our MAPS (Mentor Alder Portland State) Program. Alder Elementary School has a large population of students who face economic barriers in a diverse multilingual and multicultural area. Historically, MAPS mentors have worked to strengthen and cultivate students’ aspirations for future career and/or university achievement at an early age. 

This past year, we launched a new program, to provide mentorship and student support through the development of a new bilingual “Eco Explorers” garden club at Alder Elementary! PSU students work with small groups of students within the garden club in both larger and smaller group settings to help kids develop science, math, and social-emotional skills through hands-on activities both in and outside of the garden. Activities are designed in English and Spanish, so that students in Alder's Spanish immersion program can participate in their native language.

Transportation is provided from the PSU campus by MAPS leads and/or student staff. The MAPS program is hosted by the Student Community Engagement Center, a hub for civic engagement at Portland State University, and through a long-time partnership with Greater Than at Alder Elementary.

Mentor Team Leads serve for all three terms (Fall, Winter, Spring). 

• In Fall, Mentor Team Leads will help recruit, onboard, and orient their mentor teams, as well as work with Greater Than staff to solidify the STEM/garden club plan and curriculum. 

• In Winter, Mentor Team Leads and mentors begin going out to Alder Elementary on Wednesday afternoons between 1:15 and 5:30pm (including travel time to and from PSU) to lead the Eco-Explorers STEM/garden club. Team Leads will serve as the primary leads for the program, supporting their mentor teams in presenting and engaging Alder students with the STEM/ garden curriculum and activities, much of which may begin indoors during the winter months. All mentors serve as role models to the elementary school students, and leads additionally serve as a role model to their fellow mentors, helping model what it means to work effectively with the kids.

• In Spring, Mentor Team Leads continue facilitating the weekly Wednesday STEM/garden club sessions with more of a focus on actually planting and being out in the garden as the weather improves! Leads will continue to support their mentor teams and help plan the end-of-year party. 

Ideally, Mentor Team Leads will have a valid driver’s license and be able to help transport mentors to and from Alder Elementary and the PSU campus, using program-sponsored Zipcars.

Learn more about the MAPS program's history here: https://www.pdx.edu/student-community-engagement/maps-mentorship-program

The Eco-Explorers Team Lead will be responsible for the following:

• Collaborative coordination of the Eco-Explorers program each academic term

• Assisting in the recruitment and orientation/training of Eco-Explorers mentors

• Supporting marketing and social media coordination for the program

• Facilitating the weekly Eco-Explorers Club sessions with your mentor team and serving as a student mentor yourself

  • Eco-explorers club sessions will take place on Wednesday afternoons -- mentor team leads will work together to plan for and co-lead a weekly group of PSU students in facilitating the Eco-Explorers garden club each week.

• Providing leadership support and mentorship for Eco-Explorers mentors during weekly mentor meetings
  
  • Weekly mentor meetings will take place on Friday afternoons sometime between 1:15 and 3pm. 
    
    
• Attending regular organizational planning meetings with other MAPS team leads and SCEC and/or Greater Than staff 

• Supporting curriculum development and activity planning for the program in English and/or Spanish

• Strongly preferred: Spanish language proficiency

• Strongly preferred: Serving as a driver to transport student mentors from PSU to Alder and back on your day as a team lead (transportation is provided via Zipcar; as a lead, you will get certified as a zipcar driver to be able to drive a zipcar to Alder each week)

To qualify for this position applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Be an undergraduate with over a 2.5 Portland State GPA and plan to take 6 credits per term or be a graduate student with over a 3.0 Portland State GPA and plan to take 5 credits per term.

• Availability on Wednesday afternoons between 1:15 - 5:30pm for mentor sessions at Alder and Friday afternoons between 1:15 and 3pm for weekly mentor meetings.
  
  
• Have prior experience with mentoring and/or supporting youth education and development in a school, camp, afterschool, or mentorship setting

• Be deeply committed to youth education and/or pursuing it as a major or career path

• Have an interest in or experience with STEM education, garden education, and social-emotional learning

• Organizational skills and the ability to plan ahead in organizing curriculum and activities for the kids

• Ability to communicate effectively with faculty/staff, community partners, and peers

• Desire to develop leadership skills and support your peers during training and weekly mentor meetings

• Willingness to attend all required trainings, orientations and organizational meetings

• Available for weekly organizational planning meetings with co-leads

• Ability to participate in Friday SLS Leadership Fellows Cohort to be eligible for quarterly $600 Leadership Award (see Leadership Fellows description below)

• Strongly Preferred:

  • Spanish-language proficiency, as Alder Elementary has a Spanish immersion program. We hope at least one day of the garden club will be English/Spanish bilingual.

  • Have a valid driver's license and the willingness to get certified as a Zipcar driver to take student mentors to Alder and back once a week. 

  • Be 21 or older -- this is a requirement for being able to drive the zipcar carpool.
    

Eligibility for the quarterly Educational Leadership & Service Award (ELSA):

• In order to receive $600 ELSA scholarship each term, MAPS Team Leads with the Student Community Engagement Center must participate in weekly Student Leaders for Service (SLS) leadership classes and fulfill responsibilities of the SLS program (includes take-home reflection assignments each term)

• SLS classes meet seven Fridays each term from 10:30am - 12:30pm and bring student leaders together to focus, reflect, and apply leadership skills and knowledge in the context of social change, collaboration, service, and social justice. Members of Student Leaders for Service can only miss two meetings per term to remain eligible for the ELSA award.

• The ELSA offers a $600 scholarship per term and students have the option to enroll in three 400-level elective credits per term (up to 6 credits total).

To apply, press the green Registration button on the upper right hand corner of this page. 

For more information or questions, please email volunteer@pdx.edu or check out the MAPS Mentorship page on our website: https://www.pdx.edu/student-community-engagement/maps-mentorship-program

The MAPS Mentorship program is a program of the Student Community Engagement Center. The Student Community Engagement Center's mission is to provide robust and varied co-curricular opportunities for all students at Portland State to engage with the community and become catalysts for change.