CP Mentorship
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Ages 14–25 · Students and mentors

Learn to lead. Lead with purpose.

The Mentorship Session helps young people connect their interests with opportunities to learn, serve, and lead. With guidance from mentors and peers, students build skills through academic support and real community work.

Apply as a studentBecome a mentor

How we learn and lead

Education. Experience. Exposure.

Our mentorship approach connects learning with opportunities to contribute. Young people develop their own skills while helping others grow.

Education

Build a foundation

Personalized academic guidance and college preparation help students develop the skills and confidence to pursue their interests.

  • Data Science Training Workshop

    On July 19, 2026, students joined a hands-on workshop at the Google Visitor Experience in Mountain View, run with Women in Data Science. They learned how data is collected, organized and analyzed to solve real-world problems, guided by experienced mentors.

    Read about Data Science Training Workshop

  • CERT Disaster Preparedness Training

    Members completed a two-day Community Emergency Response Team training at the San José Fire Training Center, led by professional CERT members and retired firefighters. They practiced rapid triage, team coordination and using fire extinguishers safely.

    Read about CERT Disaster Preparedness Training

  • Drone Project: Learning from NASA and Robotics Experts

    At the second drone meeting, Dr. Min Xue (NASA Ames Research Center) and Dr. Abe Ishihara (Torc Robotics) introduced students to robotics, drone parts and safety, as the team began coordinated multi-drone operations.

    Read about Drone Project: Learning from NASA and Robotics Experts

Experience

Put ideas into practice

Youth-led committees, community projects, and internship opportunities give students a way to practice leadership and work with others.

  • Screens from the carpool app, showing the ride listing and the join-a-community step.

    HaloRides: A Student-Built Carpool App

    A student built a carpool app (first called CarConnectly, now HaloRides) and presented it at a Youth Committee meeting. It creates a private, trusted ride network, helps members reach camps and classes, and supports green transportation.

    Read about HaloRides: A Student-Built Carpool App
  • The cover sheet of the Sunnyvale Fremont High School transit survey, headed with a photograph of a bus.

    Transit Survey at Fremont High School

    To help increase VTA ridership for students commuting to school, the team surveyed Fremont High School students about their commute and the biggest problems with the bus network. A student added a commute-time question the night before and collected surveys at 7 AM.

    Read about Transit Survey at Fremont High School

  • Solar Cookers at Three Campsites

    CompassPoint Mentorship installed solar cookers at three campsites in summer 2026, so campers could learn how to cook with solar energy and why reducing fossil fuels matters.

    Read about Solar Cookers at Three Campsites

Exposure

Discover what is possible

Research, public speaking, and learning with community and professional mentors introduce students to new perspectives and pathways.

  • Students + AI: Presenting to Sunnyvale City Council

    On August 26, 2025, high school students presented a project that uses Python and AI to turn 4 to 8 hour council meetings into three-page summaries. Nearly every council member praised the work.

    Read about Students + AI: Presenting to Sunnyvale City Council

  • Presenting at Milpitas City Council

    In June 2025, AI in Governance students shared how they used Google's Gemini API to summarize a year of Sunnyvale city meetings, and the Public Art Committee shared its community mural projects, with the Milpitas City Council.

    Read about Presenting at Milpitas City Council

  • NASA Interns Meet NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang

    Our NASA internship team attended an NVIDIA event in summer 2025, where Jensen Huang spoke with them about the future of AI, robotics and space exploration.

    Read about NASA Interns Meet NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang

Grade by grade

Four years, one path

Students join at any point, and most start by exploring whatever year they are in. This is the shape the years take when somebody stays with us.

  1. 9th grade

    Explore

    Try new things and find what you care about.

    Education

    • Take the strongest courses you can handle
    • Try competitions: history, FBLA, writing, math, USACO

    Experience

    • Join a CPM youth committee
    • Apply to summer camps and programs, such as COSMOS

    Exposure

    • Public speaking: Toastmasters, writing contests
    • Start thinking about a research project you want to do

    Skills to focus on: Curiosity and imagination · Effective oral and written communication

  2. 10th grade

    Build

    Pick a direction and start building your portfolio.

    Education

    • Go deeper in your chosen subject
    • Keep a strong GPA and plan for the SAT or ACT

    Experience

    • Build a research portfolio
    • Take on a bigger role in your committee or project

    Exposure

    • Find a mentor in your field
    • Present your work, even to a small group

    Skills to focus on: Accessing and analyzing information · Critical thinking and problem solving

  3. 11th grade

    Lead

    Show results and lead something new: your signature project.

    Education

    • Your most challenging courses
    • SAT or ACT, AP exams

    Experience

    • Lead a signature project: something brand new that serves the community
    • Keep doing research driven by your curiosity

    Exposure

    • Show results: labs, IEEE, university faculty, city leaders
    • Build relationships for recommendation letters

    Skills to focus on: Initiative and entrepreneurialism · Collaboration across networks and leading by influence

  4. 12th grade

    Tell your story

    Turn four years of growth into applications that show, not tell.

    Education

    • Finish strong in senior courses
    • Final test scores, college list

    Experience

    • Keep leading your project and hand it to younger students
    • Mentor 9th and 10th graders

    Exposure

    • Ask mentors for recommendation letters early
    • Write essays: map each of the 7 skills to a real story

    Skills to focus on: Effective oral and written communication · Agility and adaptability

One student, four years

How a single interest can grow. This one started with a drone camp.

  1. 9th

    Joins a drone camp and a youth committee

  2. 10th

    Earns drone training and works on a research project

  3. 11th

    Starts a signature project and presents it to a city council

  4. 12th

    Writes essays that show the skills built along the way

The seven skills we build toward

The three E’s are how students grow. These seven are what they grow — the abilities that transfer to any subject, any job, and any problem a young person decides to take on.

  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Collaboration across networks and leading by influence
  • Agility and adaptability
  • Initiative and entrepreneurialism
  • Effective oral and written communication
  • Accessing and analyzing information
  • Curiosity and imagination
Education builds
Critical thinking and problem solving · Accessing and analyzing information
Experience builds
Collaboration across networks and leading by influence · Initiative and entrepreneurialism · Agility and adaptability
Exposure builds
Effective oral and written communication · Curiosity and imagination

The seven survival skills are Tony Wagner's, from The Global Achievement Gap (Basic Books, 2008).

Find your community

Committees bring students together around shared interests in science, technology, the arts, and community service. Explore their work and find a project you want to help shape.

Meet the committees →Explore projects →

Grow from participant to mentor

Our youth-to-youth model gives students opportunities to take on more responsibility: contributing to a project, leading a committee, and guiding younger participants. Learning and giving back reinforce each other.

See our community in action →

Your next step

Tell us about your interests using the mentorship application. Students, mentors, and parents or guardians applying for a child can use the same form. Our team will follow up about fit and next steps. Contact us about participation costs, financial assistance, or current research and internship opportunities.

Start an applicationAsk the team

Help young people take their next step

Your time, experience, and support help make mentorship, camps, and community projects possible.

DonateGet involved

Stay connected

Hear about youth projects, camps, community events, and ways to support CP Mentorship.

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