Students, young adults and professionals in Washington DC, Bethesda and Northern Virginia can work with a Blackburn mentor entirely by video. Our team is based in Los Angeles. Each client is matched with one dedicated mentor, meets weekly or several times a week in Eastern time, and keeps in touch by text and phone in between.
Families who move, and families who stay
The DC area has two kinds of families that often sit side by side. Some have lived in Chevy Chase, Potomac or McLean for decades. Others arrive with a government posting, a military assignment, a diplomatic tour or a new administration, and may leave again in a few years. For teens in the second group, every move means new schools, new friends and new expectations.
A mentor who meets by video does not change when the family does. The same person can work with a student through a move from Arlington to another state, or from overseas back to Bethesda, which gives a teen one constant during a lot of change. Learn how we work with families.
High school in Montgomery County and Northern Virginia
Large public school systems in Montgomery County and Fairfax County, plus a wide range of independent schools across the region, give students many options and plenty of rigor. Common goals in high school mentoring here include:
- Managing a heavy course load with sports, music, debate or service hours
- Planning around long bus rides and after-school traffic on the Beltway
- Building independence before college, from managing money to waking up without a parent
- Keeping confidence up after a hard semester or a move
A parent or guardian joins the intro call and receives regular updates. Mentors are not tutors or admissions counselors.
Young staffers and the first DC job
Every year a new group of graduates and interns arrives to work on Capitol Hill, at agencies, at think tanks, in nonprofits or at law and consulting firms. The work can be meaningful and the hours long, with modest early pay and rent that is not. Many share group houses in neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, Columbia Heights or Clarendon. Young adult mentoring helps with:
- A budget that works on an entry-level salary
- Setting boundaries around late nights and weekend email
- Planning the next step, whether that is graduate school, a different office or a move home
- Keeping exercise, sleep and friendships in the week
Professionals at a turning point
Careers in the region often move with the political calendar. An election, a new administration or a shift in funding can end a job or open one quickly. Professionals use mentoring to think through options, keep a structured search going and stay steady while the outcome is uncertain. See mentoring for professionals.
Scheduling around a DC week
DC is three hours ahead of our Los Angeles team. Students often meet at 4:00 or 5:00 pm Eastern (1:00 or 2:00 pm Pacific). Staffers and professionals tend to prefer 7:00 pm Eastern, after the office empties, or a Sunday session to plan the week ahead. Sessions are 30 or 60 minutes.
How a mentor helps here
Washington is full of people with expertise. A mentor offers something different: one person, focused only on your goals, who checks in every week and notices patterns before they become problems. If stress turns into anxiety or depression, a licensed professional is the right step, and a mentor can help you take it. In a crisis, call or text 988. Read about how online mentoring works.
Related
- Online mentoring in Baltimore
- Online mentoring in Philadelphia
- Thinking through a career change
- Helping a teen build confidence
- Online Mentoring in Richmond, Virginia
Common questions
We are moving out of the DC area. Can we keep our mentor?
Yes. Sessions are by video, so a student or young adult keeps the same mentor through a move anywhere in the United States, with session times updated to the new time zone.
Do you work with families in both Maryland and Virginia?
Yes. We work with clients in the District, Montgomery County, Northern Virginia and the surrounding area, all by video.
Do you meet in person in Washington?
No. Our team is based in Los Angeles, and DC-area clients work with us entirely online.
How do we start?
Take the five-minute assessment on our Get Started page. Our team reviews it personally and sets up a free intro call.
Get started
Want to talk through mentoring in the DC area? 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.