ELA Friends Volunteer Mentors

Volunteer to be a Mentor!

Are you interested in learning about other cultures and meeting international students? Would you like to be an active part of the UWM community?

In the English Language Academy, we provide opportunities for our international students to meet new people, cultivate friendships, and improve their English. So, we have a need for native English speaking (OR international students and community members with a CEFR level of C1 or higher who sound native-like) volunteers to work with our international students and to help welcome them to our UWM and Milwaukee communities.

Different volunteer opportunities might include some of the following:

  • being a mentor for special groups of students that we host
  • being a part of our conversation groups
  • helping run our international student movie nights
  • helping with our new student orientations, such as by giving campus tours
  • joining in as a mentor on Intensive English Program field trips
  • joining in as a mentor for on-campus and Milwaukee city events and activities

One of our ELA Friends Volunteer mentors James (far left) hangs out with our Intensive English Program students on the Apple Holler field trip.

Our main goals with this program are to provide international students in our programs with the following:

  • Language building opportunities – initiating conversation in English and helping students improve their English language skills through conversation (This is not a tutoring program.)
  • Helping students feel welcome to the campus and Milwaukee communities
  • Initiating intercultural relationship building – even possibly making friends!
  • Providing students the opportunities to learn more about and to integrate into the Milwaukee and United States culture – We do emphasize the importance of respecting and accepting our students’ native cultures and languages.

If you are interested in volunteering with the English Language Academy, please complete the application questionnaire below. If you have any questions regarding our ELA Friends Volunteer Mentor Program, please email the English Language Academy Program Assistant, Lauren (Lallie) Kuske, at lmkuske@uwm.edu .

ELA Friends Volunteer Mentor Application

This form is for anyone interested in applying to be one of English Language Academy's Friends Volunteer Mentors.

  • If you are undecided, just write undecided. If you are not currently a student, please write "n/a."
  • If you are not currently a student, then please write "n/a."
  • If you are not currently a student, write "n/a."
  • If you do not have a job, please write "no job."
  • Please write your job title, the name of your employer, dates of employment, the name of your supervisor, and contact information for your supervisor.
  • Please write your job title, the name of your employer, dates of employment, the name of your supervisor, and contact information for your supervisor.
  • Please write your job title, the name of your employer, dates of employment, the name of your supervisor, and contact information for your supervisor.
  • Max. file size: 5 MB.
    Please attach a resume.
  • Please list anyone outside of the supervisors you listed above that you would like to list. Please write their name, job title, years known, relationship to you, and contact information.
  • Please describe any previous volunteer experience you've had.