December 1, 2016

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — From her very first day on campus, Josephine Nitschmann was on the hunt for a way to become more involved on campus. At the time, her sister was a senior at Purdue. Fittingly, Nitschmann turned to her for advice.

“I told her, I don’t just want to be in classes,” Nitschmann recalled. “I want to do something a bit more meaningful with my time and I want to give back.”

The Honors College student’s sister pointed her to a group called College Mentors for Kids. It quickly became a passion project. Nitschmann is now the group’s president and has been heavily involved for four years. She calls the experience deeply rewarding.

College Mentors for Kids brings 245 local students from Lafayette to Purdue each week for lessons and activities based on higher education and careers, culture and diversity, and community service.

“These kids are hand-picked by their counselors, advisors and teachers,” Nitschmann explained. “Most of them are labeled at risk, living at the poverty line or below. Many of they come from a broken home and others just really need a stable role model.”

Each child, or little buddy, is paired with a college mentor who works with them for two hours a week. According to Nitschmann, the goal is to show the children a college education is within reach. The little buddies also build their confidence by interacting with their mentor.

“They are beginning to form an idea of what they want to do with their lives, what they want to major in,” Nitschmann said. “We’re showing them that the obstacles in their life are actually opportunities.”

As president of the group, the law and society and Spanish major plays a supportive and organizational role. She arranges transportation, answers questions and spends a great deal of time reaching out to potential donors for funds.

“Fundraising is a huge aspect of what we do,” she said. “We are a non-profit and need to raise $84,000 each year for our program to run, because it is no cost to the little buddies.”

Honors College advisor Rebecca Krylow says the senior is a great example of finding balance between your studies and service.

“Josephine is outstanding academically and applying to law school, but is also able to give back in a substantial leadership role outside the Honors College,” Krylow explained.

Nitschmann plans to explore several types of law with internships, but is leaning toward family or immigration law, where she believes she can continue making a difference.

“I was born in Germany and that’s a process I am going to be going through soon too, applying for my citizenship,” she added.

She encourages interested Honors Students to explore College Mentors for Kids and other service programs. Follow this link for more information: http://www.collegementors.org/campuses/15.

“It’s a really eye-opening experience,” Nitschmann said. “Often people at Purdue live in this college campus bubble and don’t realize the difficulties that people are going through right next door to us.”