Families and young adults in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Emmaus, Macungie and across the Lehigh Valley can work with a Blackburn mentor by video. You get one dedicated mentor, sessions weekly or more often in Eastern time, and text and phone contact between meetings. Our team is based in Los Angeles, so sessions in Pennsylvania are online.
From steel to logistics
The Lehigh Valley was once defined by steel. Bethlehem’s old mill site now hosts concerts, festivals and a casino, and the region has reinvented itself around health care, manufacturing and an enormous warehouse and logistics industry along I-78 and Route 22. Easton sits where the Lehigh River meets the Delaware, and Allentown has seen a downtown revival.
The region is growing. Many families moved in from New Jersey and New York for more space and lower costs, and some still commute east by car or bus. Others work locally in hospitals, distribution centers, schools and small businesses.
Situations Lehigh Valley families bring up
The student unsure about the next step
With many paths available, from local colleges to apprenticeships and jobs, students may not know which way to go. A mentor helps them explore, compare and plan. See life after high school for a broader look.
The young adult working shifts
Warehouse and health care jobs often come with irregular hours. A mentor helps young adults build routines around shift work and plan for advancement or a career change.
The new family in the area
Moving from a bigger metro can be an adjustment for a teenager. A mentor offers a steady presence through the transition and helps a student set goals in a new setting.
Building a career plan here
The Lehigh Valley offers many entry points, but moving up often takes planning. A mentor helps a young adult identify skills to build, training options and next steps, with weekly goals to keep progress steady. Our guides on getting a job with no experience and how to get promoted cover the practical side.
What the first month usually looks like
The first few weeks are about getting specific. In the first session, the mentor and client agree on two or three goals that matter right now, such as passing a class, applying to a training program or getting to work on time every day. Each week those goals become a short list of steps. By the end of the first month, most people have a clearer picture of what is working, what is not and what to change. Parents of high school students are part of the intro call and the goal setting from the start. Read more about what happens in a first mentoring session.
How sessions work
- 30 or 60 minute video sessions, weekly or several times a week.
- Text and phone check-ins between sessions.
- Scheduled in Eastern time, which is three hours ahead of Los Angeles; a 3 pm session in Allentown is noon for the mentor.
- Progress updates to parents with the client’s permission.
Where a mentor helps
A mentor is one steady adult outside the family who keeps goals concrete and follows up each week. The role does not include tutoring, therapy or admissions work. Families with teens usually start with mentoring for families; young adults often begin with young adult mentoring. See our online mentoring page and the Pennsylvania mentoring page for more.
The Lehigh Valley at a glance for families and young adults
Allentown and Bethlehem are home to large Puerto Rican, Dominican and other Latino communities, and many households speak Spanish at home. Teenagers in those families often serve as the bridge, helping parents read school notices, fill out forms or handle appointments, and many will be the first in their family to apply to college. The valley also has a cluster of small colleges and two-year campuses, so a lot of local students stay close, live at home and work part time while they study.
Freight is everywhere. Trucks crowd I-78 and Route 22, and the warehouse economy has made commercial driving, forklift work and equipment maintenance common first jobs. Some young adults see a commercial driver’s license as a fast path to good pay; others want something with a more predictable schedule. North of the cities, the Slate Belt and towns toward the Poconos are more rural, with longer drives, and some residents commute east into New Jersey each day. Summers bring festivals downtown, and winters bring ski jobs in the mountains to the north.
Situations that come up often in the Lehigh Valley
- A bilingual teen who handles family paperwork and appointments and has little time left for their own goals.
- A first-generation college student at a small local campus who is unsure how to ask for help.
- A young adult weighing a commercial driver’s license against an apprenticeship or a health care certificate.
- A student in the Slate Belt with long drives to school, work and everything else.
- A young adult who commutes into New Jersey and wants work closer to home.
Eastern time is the local time here, and sessions are held by video on that schedule; only Los Angeles clients meet in person. Early morning and evening slots suit shift workers. Two guides worth reading: for parents of first-generation college students and your first job in the trades.
Related
- Online mentoring in Philadelphia
- Online mentoring in Bucks County
- Online mentoring in Northern New Jersey
- Online mentoring in Harrisburg and Lancaster
- Education guides for families
Common questions
Is there an in-person option in the Lehigh Valley?
No. In-person sessions are only in Los Angeles. In the Lehigh Valley, sessions are by video with text and phone contact in between.
Can sessions fit around shift work?
Yes. Sessions are booked in your local time and can move around changing schedules.
Do you help families who just moved to the area?
Yes. A mentor can support a teen or young adult through the adjustment and help set goals in the new setting.
Get started
Want to talk about mentoring for someone in the Lehigh Valley? Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. A member of our team reviews every assessment personally and sets up a free intro call.