Beyond School Walls Completes Inaugural School Year
In 2025, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County (BBBSWC) entered into partnership with Quad Graphics in Hartford, and West Bend Insurance in West Bend, to bring the “Beyond School Walls” (BSW) career mentoring program to Washington County high school students.
Beyond School Walls (BSW) is the official workplace mentoring program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. It is designed to prepare students for life after high school by connecting them with professional mentors who provide guidance, support, and real-world exposure to career environments.
Twenty students participated in the program in the 2025/2026 school year, including 12 students from Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School, 4 from Slinger High School and 4 from West Bend East and West High Schools. Each student, known as a “Little,” was thoughtfully paired with a mentor, or “Big,” from either Quad Graphics or West Bend Insurance, based on their potential career interests and goals.
BSW is a flexible model that allows agencies like BBBSWC to create or adapt curricula that align with the strategic direction of the partners. Over the course of six months, mentors and students here in Washington County met monthly for an hour and a half in sessions that focused on mentorship, skill building, career readiness, relationship development and more. Sessions covered topics such as “Self-Discovery and Strengths” (a career assessment was completed to gauge what type of career the “Little” might be interested in), “Money Basics and Smart Spending” (budgeting, college/career planning and financial responsibility was discussed by guest speaker Jen Becker of Mod Ledger), and “Professional Development” (guest speaker Ane Ohm discussed interview skills, professional dress, resume building, and networking). In addition to these foundational skills, students also had the chance to set their ideal career goals, create budgets, and set up impactful Linked-in profiles.
In April 2026, post-participation surveys were sent to both “Littles” and “Bigs” who participated in BSW in the 2025/2026 school year. While the 20 high school student “Littles” all reported that their confidence levels increased, that the BSW program was helpful, and that they planned to keep in touch with their assigned career mentor now that they have graduated from the program. The “Bigs” gave positive feedback about the curriculum covered and their overall time commitment. Both groups were asked for feedback on how to keep new youth and career mentors interested and engaged in BSW in the upcoming 2026/2027 school year.
Since its founding in 2008, the BSW program has grown to support nearly 8,500 matches across 53 agencies in 30 states; this is the result of partnerships with 343 workplace partners, including 29 Fortune 100 companies. The impact to both the employer and youth who participated in Beyond School Walls is detailed in the report “Equipping Tomorrow’s Workforce: The Case for Workplace Mentorship,” published by Big Brothers Big Sisters of American in September 2020. For the employer, employee turnover is 39% lower among employees who volunteer their time, and employees who give or volunteer with the greatest intensity are the least likely to leave their job. In addition, employees can help prepare the future workforce and give their exceptional staff members a chance to develop key leadership skills.
The structure of workplace mentoring also speaks to the unmet need for many youth in our community and across the country; over 50% of high school juniors report schools do not adequately help match their interests to potential jobs or advise on steps to secure a desired career. BSW can show youth career options that they may be unaware of and immerse them in a workforce environment where they can learn what they must do to prepare for jobs in their industries.
BBBSWC is looking to expand their BSW program in the 2026/2027 school year; in addition to retaining their relationship with Quad Graphics and West Bend Insurance they are actively seeking new business sites and are recruiting sophomores and juniors from Washington County High Schools to participate.