Blackburn offers mentoring and coaching by video throughout Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, from the beaches to Weston, Parkland and Coral Springs. One dedicated mentor meets with you weekly or more often on an Eastern time schedule, with text and phone contact between sessions. Because our team is in Los Angeles, all Broward sessions are online.
Water, boats and a seasonal economy
Fort Lauderdale calls itself the Venice of America for its miles of canals, and the marine world is a real part of local life: marinas, yacht service, Port Everglades and one of the largest boat shows anywhere each fall. Tourism and hospitality fill the beachfront and Las Olas Boulevard. Inland, Broward runs west through suburbs like Plantation, Davie, Weston and Coral Springs toward the edge of the Everglades.
The rhythm of the year is different here too. Winter brings visitors, traffic and seasonal jobs; summer brings heat, afternoon storms and hurricane season from June through November.
Young adults in a service and marine economy
Many young people in Broward work in restaurants, hotels, marinas or retail, and some of those jobs pay well during the season. The risk is drifting for years without a plan for what comes next. A mentor helps turn experience into direction:
- List the skills a current job is already building, such as customer service, scheduling or mechanical work.
- Pick one direction worth testing, whether a marine trade, a hospitality management track or a return to school.
- Find out what training or certification it needs and talk to someone who already does the work.
- Build a monthly budget that holds up through the slow season.
- Set a three-month checkpoint to decide whether to keep going.
Our guides on choosing a trade and budgeting for young adults cover these steps in more depth.
Teenagers between the beach and the books
Broward teens grow up with the beach a short drive away and a lot of competition for their attention. Parents often describe a student who is bright and social but inconsistent with schoolwork. A mentor gives them a weekly plan they helped write and checks in between sessions so it holds through the week. For high school students, a parent or guardian is always part of the goal setting and receives regular progress updates.
Planning around hurricane season
A storm that closes schools for a few days can knock a student’s whole term off course. A mentor helps plan for that ahead of time: knowing what assignments are coming, keeping materials organized and having a simple routine to return to once power and school are back. Because sessions are online, they can continue if a family evacuates and has a connection.
Session times
Fort Lauderdale is three hours ahead of Los Angeles. A 4 pm session after school is 1 pm for the mentor, and hospitality workers with late shifts can ask about earlier slots on the intro call. Sessions are 30 or 60 minutes on a weekly or monthly plan.
Where a mentor helps
A mentor is not a tutor, therapist or career counselor. The role is practical guidance and steady accountability. Teens start with mentoring for high school students; young adults who feel stalled often fit mentoring for young adults feeling stuck. See our online mentoring page for how sessions work and mentoring in Florida for the rest of the state.
Related
Common questions
Do you have a Broward County office?
No. Our team is in Los Angeles, and mentoring in Fort Lauderdale and Broward is entirely by video, with text and phone contact between sessions.
Can sessions fit around restaurant or hotel shifts?
Yes. Sessions are scheduled in your local time, and the intro call is the place to find a slot that works around evening shifts.
What happens to sessions during a hurricane?
If power or internet is out, sessions are rescheduled. Because they are online, they can resume from wherever a family is staying once there is a connection.
Get started
Thinking about a mentor for someone in Broward County? 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.