Blackburn works with college students, young professionals and high school students in Tallahassee entirely by video. Each person has one dedicated mentor, meets on a schedule set in Eastern time and stays in touch by text and phone between sessions. Our team is based in Los Angeles, so Tallahassee mentoring is online from start to finish.
A capital city that is also a college town
Tallahassee is the seat of Florida’s government and home to several colleges and universities, so the city runs on two calendars at once: the academic year and the legislative session. It feels more like the Deep South than the rest of Florida, with rolling red hills, moss-draped canopy roads and plantation country stretching north toward Georgia. The coast at St. Marks and the springs at Wakulla are a short drive away.
The legislative session and the internship scramble
Every year, the session brings legislators, staff, lobbyists, reporters and a wave of student interns into the Capitol complex. For students interested in policy, law, communications or public service, it is a chance to get close to real work early. It is also a lot to juggle on top of classes. A mentor helps a student:
- Plan a semester that fits internship hours alongside a full course load.
- Prepare for informational conversations and follow up afterward.
- Keep track of the people met, what was learned and what to do next.
- Decide afterward whether this field is actually a fit, or whether to try something else.
Our guides on college internships and informational interviews cover the basics.
Government careers for young professionals
Plenty of graduates stay in Tallahassee for a first job with a state agency, a trade association or a firm that works with government. The work is stable, the cost of living is moderate, and the path forward is not always obvious. A mentor helps with the questions that come up a year or two in: whether to stay in public service, how to build skills for a move to the private sector, and whether graduate school makes sense. See should I go to grad school? and recent college graduate mentoring.
High school students in Leon County
Tallahassee teens grow up surrounded by college life, which can make the next step feel predetermined. A mentor helps a high school student slow down and figure out what they want, build planning habits that will hold up after graduation and get through junior and senior year without the family dinner table turning into a negotiation. A parent or guardian is always involved, joining the intro call if they wish, helping agree the goals and receiving regular progress updates.
Session times from Tallahassee
Tallahassee is on Eastern time, three hours ahead of our Pacific-based mentors.
| Slot | Tallahassee (Eastern) | Mentor (Pacific) |
|---|---|---|
| After school | 4:00 pm | 1:00 pm |
| After an internship day at the Capitol | 6:00 pm | 3:00 pm |
| Evening | 8:00 pm | 5:00 pm |
A session between classes at midday works well for many college students, and early-morning and weekend sessions can also be scheduled. During the legislative session, when interns’ days run long, the time can move week to week.
Tallahassee by the numbers
Figures are for the Tallahassee metro unless marked otherwise (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, via Census Reporter).
- A young metro. The median age is 35.7, driven by a big student population. College students and recent graduates are a natural focus for mentoring here.
- Many stretched budgets. The metro poverty rate is 21.5%, high in part because so many residents are students. A lot of young adults here juggle classes, a job and tight money, so a mentor often starts with a simple weekly budget and a realistic schedule.
- A highly educated town. 43.4% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In a government and university town, graduate school and professional credentials come up early, and a mentor helps weigh whether they are worth it now.
- Moderate commutes. The mean travel time to work is 23.4 minutes, longer for students driving in from the surrounding counties. Video sessions save the extra trip.
- Graduates often move back home. Across Florida (state level), 36.6% of adults ages 18 to 34 live with a parent; the national figure is 32.9% (FinanceBuzz analysis of 2024 American Community Survey data). For a Tallahassee graduate heading home to Tampa or Miami, a mentor helps keep the job search moving.
Tallahassee and the Big Bend: the local picture
Tallahassee is surrounded by small towns and rural counties stretching toward the Georgia line, including Quincy, Havana, Monticello and Crawfordville. Many young people from those places commute into town for college or a first job, and some live in areas where internet service can be patchy. Several campuses sit inside the city, so student life is woven into everyday life.
Leon County public schools opened on August 12, 2026, a little later than most Florida districts (district calendars for 2026 to 27, compiled by FloridaSchoolCalendar.com, county level), and the university term starts around the same time, so early August is when routines get set. The legislative session takes over the city each year, hurricane season can bring storms and outages, fall football weekends slow everything down, and winters are cooler than in the rest of Florida. Private-sector jobs are fewer than in the state’s bigger metros, so many graduates face a decision about whether to stay for a public-sector job or move. Families most often ask us about a college student who is struggling or on academic probation, a graduate deciding whether to stay, structure for a teen, and sessions that fit around classes.
Situations that come up often in Tallahassee
- A student from a small Big Bend town commuting into the city for classes and work each day.
- A recent graduate deciding whether to stay for a state job or move to a larger Florida metro.
- A college student who goes home to a rural county every weekend and falls behind on campus life and coursework.
- A family in an outlying area working around slow internet to make video sessions dependable.
Related
- Online mentoring in Gainesville
- Online mentoring in Jacksonville
- Online mentoring in Savannah
- Online mentoring and coaching in Florida
- How online mentoring works
- Mentoring for college students
Common questions
Do you work with college students in Tallahassee?
Yes, at any college or university in town, by video. Mentors do not work for or on behalf of any school, and they help students use the campus resources they already have.
Can parents out of town stay informed when their student is in Tallahassee?
Yes, with the student’s permission. Most students agree to share updates on goals and follow-through, and parents can join the intro call to help set the plan.
What time are evening sessions in Tallahassee on Pacific time?
A 6:00 pm session in Tallahassee is 3:00 pm for your mentor, and an 8:00 pm Eastern start is 5:00 pm Pacific. Midday, early-morning and weekend times are also possible.
Can a mentor help me balance a session internship with classes?
Yes. That kind of week-by-week planning is exactly what mentoring is for, along with follow-up between sessions by text or phone.
Do you meet in person in Tallahassee?
No. Our team is in Los Angeles, the only city where we offer in-person sessions, and Tallahassee clients work with their mentor online.
Get started
Want to talk through a semester, an internship or a next step? 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.
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Free, by video, 20 minutes, with a member of our team. Weekdays 9 to 5 Pacific.