A chilly, intermittently rainy Thursday morning was not enough to keep 35 Tye River Elementary School students from smiling, laughing, and generally having fun during a campus tour and lunch at Sweet Briar College on Dec. 9. The children came to visit their "Big Sisters" - Sweet Briar education majors who serve as mentors in a partnership between the College and Tye River - on their home turf.

In the 10-year-old program, Sweet Briar education majors are paired with a younger "sibling" they visit at the Nelson County school for about an hour a week. The quality time sometimes includes tutoring, but is more about talking and engaging in fun activities such as games and art. Many "Big Sisters" end up spending extra time with their "little" brother or sister on various field trips and activities when time allows.

But this time the kids came to them. Accompanied by Principal Sandra McKenzie and guidance counselor Jonna Clarkson, the students arrived by bus and took a guided tour of the Sweet Briar grounds, buildings, and landmarks before gathering for lunch in the Josey Dining Room of Prothro Dining Hall.

Students ate at tables with their "Big Sisters" and got a feel for the college experience - at least during lunchtime just before final exam week. Judging by their rampant smiles and rambunctious enthusiasm, the children liked what they saw.

"They just had a ball," Clarkson said after the event, which was followed by a quick visit to the SBC Riding Center. "They had been excited for so long. Because I [announced it] early, the kids kept saying, 'When are we gonna go to Sweet Briar'? When they came back to school they were hugging everybody and saying 'I just LOVE Sweet Briar!' and how they want to go to college there."

Clarkson, a 1970 Sweet Briar alumna, helped nurture the partnership between the two schools. In the 1990s, Nelson County school officials were discussing ways to enhance the learning experiences of students who were in need of some additional one-on-one attention both emotionally and academically. Clarkson had regularly worked with SBC student teachers and arranged for Tye River children to attend Sweet Briar events. As long as the schools were working together, she and her colleagues thought, why not implement a program that benefitted students at both schools?

"Our strongest tie was with the [Sweet Briar] Education Department. We had student-teachers here," she said, noting that the Teaching, Learning, and Human Development class started requiring that students establish a relationship with elementary students. The interaction gives students a chance to see if they really want to teach.

"It used to be you really had no hands-on experience with the kids," she said. By the time you're teaching "it's a little late to find out, 'Whoa, that's not where I want to be!"

Led by Holly Gould, SBC assistant professor of education, the Teaching, Learning, and Human Development class includes 26 students this semester. When the class concludes, students are not required to visit Tye River students, and official visits won't resume until next fall. Still, many "Big Sisters" continue the relationship with their little sibling on through their senior year. Many have also sparked the interest of fellow students in other majors who chose to "adopt" a younger sibling themselves.

In addition to mentoring, Sweet Briar "Big Sisters" participate in special projects to benefit Tye River Elementary students. For the second year, they have assisted SBC Chaplain Guy Brewer with the Angel Tree, a Christmas tree whose ornaments are labeled with gifts needed for "angels" at Tye River. No fewer than 50 SBC students pitched in this year to provide presents of winter hats, gloves, and mittens for children in need.

At the lunch event, Gould, who serves as liaison between the College and Tye River Elementary, was thrilled to see everybody enjoying themselves. "It was fabulous," she said. "All the comments I've heard about the visit from the 'Big Sisters' were absolutely positive ... I've been hearing lots about their little siblings over the course of the semester, but to see them interacting with each other was very heartwarming."

The event also bodes well for the SBC Education Department, she noted. "Many of the Tye River students now want to be teachers and come to college."