MI: This is Our Why - Mentorship

Kids enjoy participating in programs from The Movie Institute. The movie industry has a certain allure about it that is glamorous, even though every role requires a significant amount of time, energy, and creativity. What kids don’t expect from the program are the life-changing benefits they get from working with mentors.

Mentorship is a critical “why” for The Movie Institute (MI), as it drives positive long-term results for our alumni.

MI programs provide both group and one-to-one mentorship experiences. Students are mentored by adults through structured training, guidance, and feedback but also experience peer-to-peer mentoring as they learn to work with students from different backgrounds, strengths, and skillsets.

This community-based, collaborative experience creates a unique environment where students work within a clear set of expectations and are treated like adults while being able to lean on mentors and one another for advocacy and support as they work towards shared goals. According to research from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), mentorship programs that support intentional teaching, guidance, and advocacy tend to be more effective than other formats.

Feedback from MI program participants indicates students learn to make quality decisions, trust their own judgment, and use critical thinking skills while under the guidance of mentors. An alum recently shared his experience in the Kamp Hollywood program:

“Kamp Hollywood gave me the power to connect, to open up, to see my value through storytelling.”

Though benefits this alum gained, like self-confidence and improved interpersonal skills, can last through adulthood, NIJ cautions that supportive environments are needed ongoing to support this success. Benefits are lost or dissipate as mentees age out of participation in formal mentor programs.

The Movie Institute’s goal is to develop the next generation to be workforce ready.

MI is known for helping students get into colleges or trade schools, and professional video production work is often completed with alumni working alongside the experts they once learned from. This is an ongoing priority for MI that will continue to evolve as we expand to support more kids in more cities across Texas and beyond.

There are even more benefits from mentorship that we hear about from alums and their parents as well, and data supports their results. Research shared by The National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments and Youth.gov indicates there are more than a dozen benefits for participants of programs that include a mentorship component. Not only do students benefit from cognitive and socio-emotional learning through MI programs, but many students also develop improved behavior, a stronger identity, a future vision for themselves, positive values, and resilience.

The Movie Institute has been successfully mentoring youth through the creativity and discipline of motion media arts and sciences since 2000. We are working to serve thousands of children each year instead of hundreds. The MI North Studio will support 2,000 – 3,000 students each year from at least four counties in North Texas.