Blackburn Mentoring provides one-on-one mentoring and coaching by video throughout Oklahoma, plus in person in Los Angeles, for teens 13 and up, college students and young adults, and has done this work since 2014. Begin with a free 20 minute intro call, then expect a mentor match within 2 business days.
Best for students and families like these:
- 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, students and young adults across Oklahoma can work with a dedicated Blackburn mentor by video, scheduled in Central time. That is two hours ahead of our Los Angeles team, so after-school and evening sessions are easy to fit, and mentors check in by text and phone between sessions.
Plains, hills and a lot of highway
Oklahoma stretches from the forested hills of the east to the flat, dry panhandle in the far west. Most people live in and around Oklahoma City and Tulsa, but many families are in smaller towns where the nearest city is an hour or more away. Spring brings severe storms and tornado warnings that can upend a week, and summer heat is real.
Online mentoring keeps the same mentor and the same weekly time slot regardless of where in the state a family lives.
How Oklahoma makes a living
Oil and natural gas have shaped Oklahoma for more than a century, and energy companies remain major employers in both big metros. Aviation and aerospace are significant, with a large Air Force base and federal aviation operations in Oklahoma City and aircraft maintenance in Tulsa. Agriculture means cattle and winter wheat across much of the state. Tribal nations, headquartered throughout Oklahoma, run businesses, health systems and services that employ many people. Health care, logistics and state government fill out the picture.
The regions in brief
- Oklahoma City, Edmond, Norman and Moore: the capital region and the state’s largest metro.
- Tulsa and Green Country: the northeast, with energy, aerospace and a lively arts scene.
- Lawton and the southwest: anchored by a large Army post.
- Stillwater, Enid and the north: college town life and wheat country.
- The southeast and the panhandle: rural, spread out and far from the metros.
What students and young adults face here
Oklahoma students attend public districts of every size, from big urban and suburban systems to small rural schools. Many also take classes at regional career and technology centers that train students for trades, health care and technical jobs. There are independent and faith-based schools in the metros. After high school, the options include two large public research universities, regional public universities, community colleges and private colleges, and the state offers scholarship programs for qualifying residents who stay in state. Some students leave for Texas, Arkansas, Kansas or farther.
Whatever path a student takes, the hard parts are similar: building habits without a parent nearby, choosing a direction, and handling money for the first time.
A mentor for each stage
- High school students build weekly plans and practice running their own schedule, with a parent involved from the start. See mentoring for high school students.
- College and career tech students get steady accountability for classes, work and routines. See mentoring for college students.
- Young adults working in energy, aviation or health care, or still figuring it out, set goals and break them into steps. See young adult mentoring.
Families can learn more on mentoring for families.
Pages for areas in Oklahoma
See our pages for online mentoring in Oklahoma City and online mentoring in Tulsa. Families in the south may also find Dallas or Fort Worth useful. Our online mentoring page covers how video sessions work, and mentoring by state lists nearby states.
Growing up and starting out in Oklahoma
High school life across Oklahoma often centers on football, rodeo, FFA and 4-H, and county livestock shows can fill a student’s year as fully as classes do. In suburbs like Edmond, Moore, Norman, Broken Arrow and Jenks, large high schools run competitive sports and activity programs with packed schedules. Church and family ties are strong, and many teens hold jobs early, whether on a ranch, at a feed store or in a local restaurant. The wheat harvest in early summer brings custom harvest crews through the western counties, and some older teens join them for the season.
Living costs are low compared with much of the country, so a young adult with a steady job can often afford an apartment, or even a first home, earlier than peers on the coasts. Oklahoma’s Promise, a long-running state program, has helped many students from qualifying families attend college in state; rules change, so check the state’s official site for current details. Many tribal nations also offer their own education and scholarship programs for citizens, which families sometimes overlook.
Common situations for Oklahoma families and young adults
- A teen whose year revolves around showing livestock and who needs a plan for school and work once the last show is over.
- A tribal citizen exploring education support from both their nation and the state, with separate forms and timelines.
- A young adult who can afford to move out on an entry-level paycheck but has never managed bills alone.
- A family in a small town whose plans shift whenever a parent’s oilfield job slows down.
- A graduate choosing between staying near family and taking a job offer in Dallas or Houston.
Oklahoma keeps Central time, and sessions are booked on that local clock, two hours ahead of your mentor. Mentoring reaches Oklahoma by video, because in-person sessions happen only in Los Angeles. Students drawn to skilled work can read how to choose a trade, and first-generation students can start with the first-generation college student guide. See also state merit scholarships and our pages for Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
Related
- Online mentoring in Oklahoma City
- Online mentoring in Tulsa
- Online mentoring in Texas
- Career and education mentoring
- State education rules: graduation, dual enrollment and scholarships
- State merit scholarships explained
- High school graduation requirements
Common questions
What time zone do Oklahoma sessions use?
Central time, two hours ahead of Los Angeles. A 5 pm session in Tulsa is 3 pm for the mentor, and we always schedule in your local time.
What happens if a storm knocks out power on session day?
The session moves. Mentors reschedule when weather gets in the way and follow up by text or phone in the meantime.
Can a mentor work with a student in a career and technology program?
Yes. Mentoring is about goals and follow-through, so it fits students in trade and technical programs as well as those headed to a university.
Get started
Want to talk about mentoring for someone in Oklahoma? 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 .
Free, by video, 20 minutes, with a member of our team. Weekdays 9 to 5 Pacific.