Families and young adults anywhere in Missouri can work with a dedicated Blackburn mentor by video, scheduled in Central time, which covers the whole state. Whether you are in St. Louis County, the Kansas City suburbs, Springfield or a farm town in between, you meet the same mentor online each week, with text and phone check-ins between sessions.
Two big metros on opposite edges
Missouri is unusual: its two largest metros sit on the state’s eastern and western borders, roughly four hours apart on I-70, and both spill into neighboring states. St. Louis reaches into Illinois; Kansas City straddles the Kansas line. In between and to the south are Columbia and Jefferson City in the middle of the state, Springfield and the Ozarks in the southwest, and a lot of rural country. A mentor by video works the same in any of them.
Getting to know the regions
St. Louis
Health care, biotechnology and plant science, financial services, aerospace and a strong tradition of independent and parochial schools. Many families think of themselves by neighborhood, suburb or parish.
Kansas City
Engineering and architecture firms, logistics, financial services, technology and health care, with suburbs on both sides of the state line.
Mid-Missouri, Springfield and the Ozarks
State government in Jefferson City, a college-town economy in Columbia, and in the southwest a mix of health care, trucking and logistics, retail and the tourism of Branson and the lakes. Agriculture, from cattle to soybeans, runs through much of the state.
Education across the state
Public school districts range from large suburban systems to small rural ones, and the two big metros have many private and religious schools. Missouri has a public university system with campuses in several cities, several regional universities, and community colleges in every corner. A notable pattern: students in St. Louis and Kansas City can cross a state line for college without going far, and many do, while students from neighboring states come into Missouri in turn.
Situations where a Missouri family might look for a mentor
- A high schooler who is falling behind or coasting, where a parent wants another steady adult in the picture. Mentoring for high school students explains how parents stay involved.
- A first-year college student who is struggling with freedom and routines, close to home or far away. See mentoring for college students.
- A graduate deciding between staying in Kansas City or St. Louis and moving to a bigger coastal market.
- A young adult living at home without a plan. Young adult mentoring is built for this.
- A professional who wants accountability for a career change or a big personal goal.
The practical details
Sessions are 30 or 60 minutes by video, weekly or several times a week, on a weekly or monthly plan. Missouri is two hours ahead of Los Angeles, so a 5 pm session after practice is 3 pm for the mentor. Parents of high school students join the intro call, help set goals and receive regular progress updates; college students and adults choose what is shared. Learn more on our online mentoring page and our page on mentoring for families.
Pages for areas in Missouri
Other states are listed under mentoring by state.
Related
- Online mentoring in Nebraska
- Online mentoring in Memphis
- Helping a struggling college student
- An adult child living at home
Common questions
What time zone are sessions for Missouri clients?
Central time, statewide. You book in your local time; the mentor in Los Angeles is two hours behind.
We live on the Kansas side of Kansas City. Does that matter?
No. Kansas is mostly on Central time too, and we work with families on both sides of the line the same way, by video.
Can a mentor work with a student who is away at college in another state?
Yes. Sessions are online, so the student meets the mentor wherever they are enrolled, and with permission the mentor keeps parents in Missouri informed.
Is a mentor the same as a counselor?
No. Mentors help with goals, habits and follow-through. They are not therapists or admissions counselors and can coordinate with those professionals when a family already has them.
Get started
Want to talk about someone in Missouri who could use a mentor? 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.