mBrace Frisco Orthodontics Dr. Becomes Mentor In High School Program

Frisco, TX - Local orthodontist, Dr. Shireen Irani recently announced on her orthodontics practice blog that she had begun supporting a program that helps get real world knowledge in a career path of their choice through mentorship and access to industry professionals in the community.

The program, run by the Frisco Independent School District (FISD) is called the "Independent Study and Mentorship" program. According to Krishna Chetty, Advanced Academics Coordinator with FISD states that "ISM is an opportunity for students to ... take a deep dive into a topic that they are interested in [within] a career. So students get an opportunity to interview a number of different people within their field of interest. They can then go on to spend a year getting mentorship from a professional working with that mentor creating some sort of an original project."

Like Dr. Irani, many members of the community from graphic designers, architects, and business owners to medical specialists, biologists, scientists, and law professionals are volunteering to act as mentors and consultants to ISM students while they work on a project pertaining to the mentor's industry or field. During that time, students may also get hands on experience in the mentor's field if and when appropriate.

According to the Frisco ISD site, students will benefit from the program by gaining new skills and experience in research, product development, public speaking and presentations, resume writing, interviews, business and social etiquette, hands on experience in the work environment of the mentor, and written assessment of research based on Bloom's Taxonomy, a set of hierarchical models used to classify educational learning objectives into levels of complexity.

Wendy Grandell, an ISM Teacher at Lone Star High School mentions that after the kids complete their original project, they will get to present their work at an event open to the public and that "this is a great opportunity for the community to see what our students are doing and the potential that they have in the future."

Krishna Chetty, quoted earlier mentions that about 400 students setup exhibits at the presentation event and thousands come to see and hear their presentations.

Joe Trahan, a mentor for the program who works in Media Relations for the Dallas Cowboys says that the students "Are very attentive and want to learn from you. So I think you walk away from this experience gaining the trust of a young adult and the satisfaction of getting to see what they do. But it's also important to remember that I'm having fun too and making an impact on a life which is the most important part of this."

Dr. Shireen Irani mentioned at the outset is mentoring aspiring dental student, Yasaswi Gogineni. Dr. Irani is the owner of mBrace Frisco Orthodontics. For more information, visit the original post at the clinic's blog.