Last week, the History Department once again celebrated the successful completion of our History Extension Mentoring Program, a cornerstone of our Social Inclusion Program. As the second iteration of the program since its relaunch in 2023, we have been privileged to continue working with schools such as Canley Vale High School and Corowa High School, while also making connections with Hastings Secondary College, Port Macquarie, Woonona High School, and Gymea Technology High School.
The aim of the program is to address the underrepresentation of students from low socio-economic, regional/rural and diverse backgrounds at the University of Sydney, and in history courses especially. The program initiates and strengthens connections between partner schools and the University and is structured in such a way as to be of service to our partner schools, responding to the needs of both students and their teachers. By familiarising high school students with the University, the program aims to foster the aspirations of students from disadvantaged communities by introducing them to University life – while supporting their learning at high school.
The History Extension program in the HSC consists of two parts – ‘constructing history’ and the ‘major project’: a 2500-word research essay on any historiographical topic of their choosing. For most students, this is the most significant historical work they have done. Our program provides a number of workshops to support students both academically but also pastorally through developing these extended works, with each session constituting an hour long talk from a member of staff in the department and an hour of mentoring with their volunteer mentors from our undergraduate and postgraduate history cohorts.
Featuring four sessions over the course of a year, the program paired HSC students studying the History Extension course with a University of Sydney History student volunteers as a mentor for their major project for the unit. With projects ranging from a historiographical investigation of goth subculture to revisionist accounts of colonialism, the project both gave these students vital support through this challenging unit, while building a relationship with a mentor who can support them through the various trials and tribulations of the HSC.
In reflecting on the four sessions, we have held across the past six months; this has been an incredibly valuable experience for mentors and mentees alike. For mentor Lizzy Kwok, “The mentoring program was an incredibly enjoyable and fulfilling experience! As much as we meant to “teach”, I learnt so much from younger students who had such a wide variety of interests — from medieval England to imperial Russia.” Across the board, not only was this a chance for mentors to further engage in historical studies but translate their passions into something greater.
For the students, connecting with both mentors and historians in the department has offered a chance to demystify the university ‘institution’ which can often feel quite far away. This was not only a chance for engagement with the university, but an opportunity for their ideas and voices to be heard.