Blackburn Mentoring, mentoring since 2014, works one-on-one with teens 13 and up, college students and young adults by video across New York State, with in-person mentoring and coaching in Los Angeles. The first step is a free 20 minute intro call; after that, you are matched with a mentor within 2 business days.

Best for:

A high school student who knows what to do but struggles to follow through on schoolwork and deadlines
A college student who is falling behind, far from home or lost on a large campus
A young adult who feels stuck after school, between jobs or living at home
Families who want weekly structure and parent updates without a weekly drive

Families and young adults anywhere in New York State, from Manhattan and Long Island to the Adirondacks and Buffalo, can work with one dedicated Blackburn mentor by video. Sessions are scheduled in Eastern time, three hours ahead of our team in Los Angeles, with text and phone check-ins between them.

Two very different New Yorks

When people outside the state say New York, they usually mean the city. The state itself is much larger and more varied. Downstate is dense, expensive and fast: the five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester and the lower Hudson Valley. Upstate stretches across the Capital Region, Central New York, the Finger Lakes, Western New York, the Southern Tier and the North Country, with small cities, farms, lakes and long winters.

Those differences matter for a family looking for help. In the city, the problem is time and traffic. Upstate, it is often distance. Video handles both.

What drives the economy, region by region

New York City: finance, media, publishing, fashion, technology and some of the largest hospital systems in the country.
Long Island and Westchester: commuter suburbs tied to Manhattan, plus health care, research and corporate offices.
The Capital Region: state government, health care and a growing semiconductor and advanced manufacturing presence.
Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo: health care, higher education, engineering and a manufacturing heritage that is still part of local identity.
Rural New York: dairy, apples, vineyards around the Finger Lakes and tourism in the mountains.

The education picture

New York has very large urban school systems, hundreds of suburban and rural districts and a deep bench of independent schools, especially downstate. For college, the state runs two large public systems: a statewide university system with campuses and community colleges in every region, and a separate university system serving New York City. On top of that are many private colleges, from small liberal arts campuses to major research universities.

Students move in both directions. Plenty of New Yorkers leave for college in New England, the mid-Atlantic or farther. Many students from other states and countries move to New York to study. Either way, the first year is often the hardest, and parents are frequently hundreds of miles away when a student starts to struggle.

Who we work with across the state

High school students carrying heavy course loads, long commutes or a lot of activities, with a parent always involved. See mentoring for high school students.
College students at campuses in the state or elsewhere who need routines and a steady check-in. See mentoring for college students.
Young adults who moved to the city for a first job, or moved back home upstate and need a plan. See young adult mentoring.
Families who want an outside adult to keep goals moving and report back. See mentoring for families.

Pages for areas in New York

A note on winter and the school calendar

Upstate winters bring lake-effect snow, and a snow day can scramble a week. Downstate, the calendar is shaped by long commutes and packed schedules. Because sessions are online, they keep going in a storm, on a train platform or from a dorm room, and they move easily when a week gets crowded. You can read more about how that works on our online mentoring page, or browse other states on mentoring by state.

Growing up and starting out across New York State

In New York City, many kids ride the subway or bus to school on their own by middle school, and the high school admissions process asks families to rank programs across the boroughs, which can feel like applying to college at thirteen. On Long Island and in Westchester, life tends to center on a strong local district, travel sports and a drive or train ride to almost everything else. Upstate, from the Southern Tier to the North Country, teens may grow up on dairy farms or in small cities, with long snowy winters and short summers spent at lakes and county fairs. Regents exams add a layer to high school that families moving in from other states often find unfamiliar.

Downstate rents are punishing for anyone on an entry-level salary, so living at home or with several roommates is normal well into the late twenties. Upstate is more affordable, but jobs can be thinner, and many young adults leave for the city or out of state. Families weigh the two public university systems and their community colleges closely, and New York’s Tuition Assistance Program and Excelsior Scholarship have helped many residents attend public colleges in state; rules change, so check the state’s official site before relying on either.

Common situations for New York families and young adults

An eighth grader in the city sorting through high school applications and unsure how to choose among programs.
A recent graduate in Queens splitting rent four ways and trying to turn a first job into a real career.
An upstate student who left a small town for a dorm in a big city and feels lost in the crowd.
A Long Island senior comparing a public campus in the state with a far more expensive private option.
A young adult in Buffalo or Syracuse deciding whether to build a life there or head downstate.

Every corner of New York keeps Eastern time, and each session is arranged around your own local hour. Video is how New York clients meet their mentor, with in-person sessions available solely in Los Angeles. Graduates back with family may like moving back home after college, and students leaving home can look at college transition mentoring. See state merit scholarships and how education works state by state, or our pages for New York City, Buffalo and Rochester and Albany.

Common questions

What time are sessions for clients in New York?

All of New York State is on Eastern time, three hours ahead of Los Angeles. A 5 pm session in Buffalo or Brooklyn is 2 pm for the mentor, so after-school and evening times are easy.

Do you work with families upstate, not just in the city?

Yes. Clients in Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, the North Country and everywhere else in the state work with us by video, the same way as clients in Manhattan.

My child moved to New York for college. Can a mentor help?

Yes. The mentor meets the student by video wherever they live, and with permission keeps parents informed wherever the family is.

Is this the same as tutoring or college counseling?

No. Mentors help with goals, habits and follow-through. They are not tutors or admissions counselors, though they can coordinate with those people.

Get started

Want to talk about someone in New York 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.

Last updated November 2, 2026.

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Online Mentoring and Coaching in New York State