ELA Friends Volunteer Mentors

Volunteer to be an ELA Friends 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?

Our ELA Friends volunteer mentors are native English speakers OR international students and community members with a CEFR level of C1 or higher that assist international students in our programs to meet new people, to cultivate new friendships, and to improve their English language skills while welcoming them to our UWM and Milwaukee communities.

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 to 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! We also emphasize cultural exchange.
  • 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.

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 with our new student orientations, such as by giving campus tours
  • joining in as a mentor on Intensive English Program field trips
  • leading a group of students to different events on campus or around Milwaukee and helping the students to engage in the event

Volunteer Mentor Duties and Expectations:

  • Complete a required online orientation
  • Sign the volunteer mentor contract (You will receive this contract by email once you submit a volunteer application and are approved by the Assistant Academic Director – IEP.)
  • Organize and lead ELA Friends events
  • Communicate consistently with the ELA Friends coordinator, Lauren Kuske, at lmkuske@uwm.edu. – This includes communicating when you are not available to organize or attend events.
  • Be available to organize and lead at least one event per month

Please note: This is a semester-long commitment. If your availability changes because of personal or academic reasons, please let the ELA Friends coordinator know as soon as possible. 

If you are interested in volunteering with the English Language Academy, complete the application questionnaire below. If you have any questions regarding our ELA Friends Volunteer Mentor Program, contact us at el-academy@uwm.edu.

ELA Friends Volunteer Application

This form is for anyone interested in applying to be one of English Language Academy's Friends Volunteers.
  • If you are undecided, just write undecided. If you are not currently a student, write n/a.
  • If you are not currently a student, then write "n/a."
  • If you are not currently a student, write "n/a."
  • If you do not have a job, then 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. If you have never had a job, write "n/a."
  • Please write your job title, the name of your employer, dates of employment, the name of your supervisor, and contact information for your supervisor. If you have never had a job, then write "n/a."
  • Please write your job title, the name of your employer, dates of employment, the name of your supervisor, and contact information for your supervisor. If you have never had a job, then write "n/a."
  • Max. file size: 5 MB.
    Please attach a resume.
  • Please list the name, job title, contact information, years known, and relationship for each reference. Please list at least 2 references.
  • Please describe any previous volunteer experience you've had.