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

Best for:

Capable teens 13 and up whose grades or motivation have slipped
College students on a hard semester, a leave or a return to school
Young adults living at home who are ready to build a routine and move forward
Families in any time zone who want sessions scheduled around their week

Anyone in Vermont, from Burlington to the Northeast Kingdom to the southern ski towns, can work with a dedicated Blackburn mentor by video. Vermont is on Eastern time, three hours ahead of our Los Angeles team, and every session is scheduled in your local time. For high school students, a parent is always part of the plan.

Small towns, long winters, winding roads

Vermont is one of the least populous states, and most Vermonters live in small towns and villages tucked into valleys between the Green Mountains. Burlington, on Lake Champlain, is the largest city and still modest in size. Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the country.

Getting anywhere takes longer than the map suggests. Two-lane roads follow the rivers, and in winter, mud season or a snowstorm, a 40-minute drive can double. For a teenager who needs weekly support, a mentor on a laptop at the kitchen table is simply more reliable than one across the county.

Vermont, region by region

Chittenden County, Burlington and its suburbs, the state’s main population and job center.
Central Vermont, around Montpelier and Barre.
Southern Vermont, including Brattleboro, Bennington and Manchester, closer to Massachusetts and New York.
The Northeast Kingdom, the most rural corner, with long distances between towns.
The ski and resort towns along the spine of the Green Mountains.

What Vermonters do for work

Tourism is a pillar, through ski season, summer on the lakes and fall foliage. Vermont leads the country in maple syrup, and dairy farming still shapes the landscape. Specialty food and drink, outdoor gear, health care, education and a sizable remote-work population round it out. Many young adults leave for larger job markets; others stay and piece together seasonal and local work, which takes planning.

The education picture

Vermont schools are small. Many towns share a regional high school, and some smaller towns send students to schools in neighboring towns or to independent academies. Students can choose among a few public colleges and universities, a community college and several private colleges. It is common for Vermont graduates to leave for college in other New England states or farther, and the state’s colleges also draw many students from out of state, especially from the Northeast.

Going from a graduating class of a few dozen to a lecture hall of hundreds is a real shift. So is a quiet winter for an out-of-state student far from home. A mentor helps with both.

How a mentor helps at each stage

A high school student in a small school gets a consistent outside adult, a weekly plan and help thinking beyond the town line. See mentoring for high school students.
A college student, in Vermont or elsewhere, gets help with routines and the long middle of the semester. See mentoring for college students.
A young adult deciding whether to stay or go gets structure around jobs, money and a move. See young adult mentoring.

Sessions are 60 minutes, weekly or several times a week, with text and phone check-ins between. Read how online mentoring works, see our approach for families, or browse mentoring in every state.

Pages for areas in Vermont

Being young in Vermont: seasons, tech centers and the pull of home

Vermont runs on four seasons plus two more that locals name on their own: mud season in spring, when dirt roads turn soft, and stick season in November, after the leaves drop and before the snow. Teen jobs follow that cycle, with lift and ski school work in winter, haying and farm stands in summer, and inn and restaurant shifts during foliage. Many high school students spend part of each day at a regional career and technical center, training in fields like health care, construction, culinary arts or forestry before returning to their home school.

The state’s housing shortage is a daily reality for young adults. Rentals in and around Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski and Essex are scarce, so many twenty-somethings live with parents longer than planned or commute from smaller towns. An aging population means steady demand for nurses, electricians, plumbers and other skilled workers. It is also common for young Vermonters to leave for college or a city job and then think hard, a few years later, about moving back closer to family and the outdoors they grew up with.

Situations Vermont families and young adults commonly navigate

A junior splitting the day between a regional technical center program and classes at the home high school.
A young adult who wants to stay near family but cannot find an affordable apartment in Chittenden County.
A teen whose winter weekends belong to ski team or a job running lifts.
A graduate living in Boston or New York who is wondering whether to come back and how to make a living if they do.
A senior finishing college credit early and unsure what to do with the head start.

Vermont observes Eastern time statewide, and sessions are arranged by video in Eastern hours; we see clients in person only in Los Angeles. Useful guides: career and technical education and moving back home after college. Families comparing options can also read education by state and our page on Burlington.

Common questions

What time zone do Vermont sessions use?

Eastern time, the same across the whole state. A 4 pm session after school in Vermont is 1 pm for a mentor in Los Angeles.

Our internet is patchy in winter. Does that rule out video?

Not usually. Sessions can run on a phone, and if video struggles, the mentor can continue by phone call.

Can a mentor help a student decide whether to leave Vermont for college?

A mentor helps the student think through the choice and plan the steps. Mentors are not admissions counselors, but they can work alongside one.

Get started

Want to talk about a student or young adult in Vermont? 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.

Book a free intro call Text us

Free, by video, 20 minutes, with a member of our team. Weekdays 9 to 5 Pacific.

Online Mentoring and Coaching in Vermont