Meet Rebecca
Rebecca Gowen
Mentor, Mentee Recruiter & Volunteer Training/Development Lead
Meet our incredible volunteer, Rebecca Gowen! Rebecca is our talented volunteer that wears many hats within the Minds Matter community. As a mentor, she attends our weekly Saturday sessions to guide, challenge, and champion our students. She is also a member of the Mentee Recruiting team, where she expands our outreach to low-income high schoolers in the Bay Area.
Additionally, Rebecca is passionate about ensuring that our volunteers are well-equipped to support our students. She is the Lead for the Volunteer Development & Training Team, which is responsible for planning our orientations and workshops.
“MMSF has given me a chance to give back to a cause and community close to my heart.”
What Is Your Favorite Minds Matter Memory? My favorite part of Minds Matter is the community. It’s been amazing to connect with other people in the Bay Area who are committed to helping low-income students and want to dedicate their time to uplift people in the community. People at Minds Matter SF are some of the smartest and kindest people I know, and I always look forward to the social events!
What Inspired You to Become a Mentor? I struggled with the college application process when I was in high school but I was lucky enough to receive generous financial aid. I saw how much the opportunity to go to college altered the trajectory of my life, so as soon as I graduated I wanted to pay it forward and make the process easier for low-income students.
How Have You Benefited Personally From Your Experience at Minds Matter? I’ve gained a lot of leadership skills through Minds Matter and met amazing people with similar interests. During mentoring sessions, I tend to find myself learning right beside my mentees! Whether we’re talking about growth mindset or mental health, Saturday session gives me time to reflect on my own strategies and areas for improvement.
What Goes on During the Saturday Sessions With the Students You Work With? We start off in small groups with a check-in to see how everyone is doing. It’s great to catch up with my mentees every week and identify any issues that may have come up since last session. We go into a larger group for the lesson of the day, where everyone is encouraged to participate. The last 30–45 minutes are dedicated to quad time and we go back into our small groups to dig deeper into the lesson or work on summer program applications.