Journal for Civic Commitment Vol. XIII, No. 1, September 2009 *Director, CAMP Gator, 200 C Norman Hall, PO Box 114100, Gainesville, FL 32611-4100, USA. Email: mohlson@ufl.edu © 2009 Journal for Civic Commitment C.A.M.P. Gator: Collegiate Achievement Mentoring Program Matthew Ohlson* University of Florida, USA Abstract CAMP (Collegiate Athlete Mentoring Program) Gator is a leadership-mentoring program in which collegiate athletes and student leaders serve as mentors to at-risk students. The hallmark of the program is leadership training that mentors and mentees complete collaboratively; creating mission and vision statements, partaking in service leadership projects, and even the creation of a leadership skills video. Participants in the pilot program experienced increased GPA’s, decreased school suspensions, increased confidence, and enhanced public speaking ability. Purpose There is a dire need for school principals and educational leaders not only in the state of Florida, but also in school districts throughout the nation (Florida Department of Education, 2007). Whitaker (2001) reported that 90% of the district superintendents surveyed indicated a “moderate to extreme shortage of principal candidates.” Even more startling is the decline in the number of educational leaders that match the racial, ethnic, and socio-economic background of the student population (National Center for Education Statistics, as cited in Taylor & Whittaker, 2003). Furthermore, research has shown that the children in our nations’ schools, especially those who are minorities or poor, face many challenges in terms of