A private high school junior concerned about negative self-talk amongst her peers, Eliza performed a mixed methods study where she found an overwhelming number of her peers felt pressure to engage in unhealthy behaviors to change their bodies. She hoped to use her mentorship to correct the absence of education on body image issues within her high school's health curriculum and help change the student body's culture.
Learn about existing body image curricula and the evidence that supports them
Adapt a specific evidence-based curriculum to suit the needs of her school
Create a website focused on disseminating information about promoting body positivity in schools
Eliza's mentor is a licensed clinical psychologist and research scientist within the University of Pennsylvania's Psychology Department, who specialized in issues of mental health in teenagers as well as the implementation of evidence-based practices for psychopathology in community settings.
Developed strong grasp on empirical language, strengthened her critical thinking in adapting curricula to maximize its acceptability in the setting of her school, and learned to concisely present her findings in a clear way.
To build out a body positive curriculum for her school, Eliza first reviewed a number of complex empirical articles from prestigious scientific journals, then evaluated an existing curriculum which she worked on adapting.
Eliza's final project was comprised of three elements:
1. Body-positivity curriculum adapted for implementation in her school’s health class (including PowerPoint presentations and handouts).
2. Letter to school leadership proposing the use of this curriculum
3. Original educational site that shared her research and resources so other schools could implement body positive curricula: bodypositiveschools.org
I would highly recommend Hugo Mentors... Not only was I able to create a curriculum and a website and discover a passion of mine, but I was also able to learn many important life skills that have helped my college transition immensely. Whether that be handling large workloads, organizing myself for the week ahead, or even just staying on track with assignments, I learned so much from this program. I truly do not have a shortage of great things to say about my experience.
I think the most meaningful aspect of this mentoring experience for me was the relationship I created with [my mentor]. It was an amazing experience because not only was I lucky enough to work with such a smart and determined person, but I was also able to discover something that I loved working through so much. I loved being able to help others through something like body image, which is an ongoing issue that can never be talked about enough and how [my mentor] helped me contribute to this societal issue is something I will always remember.
[My mentor] is not only one of the smartest people I have ever been able to work with, but she is compassionate, caring and helpful with every matter.... She helped me discover a field of interest that I loved and enabled me to build upon my body image studies that I had previously started at my high school. She was definitely an outstanding mentor and I am so lucky and grateful to have been able to work with her.
Research skills
Organizational skills
Technical skills
Appreciation for the value of your own contributions
Accomplishing a personal goal
Clarification of which academic areas interest her
Readiness for college level work
Increased academic self-confidence
Learning to work independently
Hugo has run hundreds of mentorships across dozens of fields. Each of them are unique and designed around the students background, goals and interests. Below are some of the final projects students developed during their mentorships.
View projects