For all young people, juggling the hardships of both life and school can be tough. Unfortunately, it’s often made tougher by the fact that most of them are going at it alone, with minimal support.

When U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan held a town hall meeting last month with high school students from Arlington, Virginia, many students pointed to their school’s mentoring program as something that helped motivate them to do better in school. Sounds like a model the rest of the country should follow.

A few weeks ago, President Obama officially proclaimed January “National Mentoring Month.” Recently, he also publicly commended the new partnership between MENTOR–a nonprofit organization championing youth mentoring in the U.S.–and leading media company Viacom Inc. The new initiative is called Get Connected: Be a Mentor, Change a Life. Viacom will pair its employees (those who have volunteered) up with students in communities in which the company operates, (i.e. New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Nashville) and provide mentor training and programming. MENTOR, veterans of the mentoring process, will serve to guide Viacom in the initiative. Watch Obama’s speech on National Mentoring Month above.

Behind every successful individual, there are great teachers and mentors who have been there and done it. If you’re struggling to stay in school, seek out someone in your community who can help shoulder the burden and grant some valuable advice. Being a mentor can also be an extremely rewarding experience; head to mentoring.org to find out more!