http://www.search-institute.org/youth-mentoring-initiative-and-developmental-assets
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Lexxi Smith shares her story.
My mentor is like a second mom to me. When she gives me advice it reminds me of my mother. The way she explains her point of view sounds exactly like my mom. Also, if I’m telling her about a situation it seems like she almost feels my pain.
One thing I learned from having a mentor is, when I don’t want my friend’s advice, I can always turn to my mentor. I say that because, when I’m seeking advice I don’t want it from someone my age. I want it from someone with life experience, someone other than my parents.
This would help me in my years to come because, she has taught me to communicate better and seek help when I need it. But most importantly I can take the advice she gave me and share with other people who might be going through the same problems as I did. I absolutely love this program and would recommend it to anyone.
Joel Noel’s Story
Having a mentor my eight grade year has been a wonderful experience. Before now I never really knew what a mentor was all about but Mr. Foster has definitely made it very clear for me. Mr. Foster is a positive roll model I can look up to and aspire to be like when I grow up. I look forward to meeting with him on Tuesdays because he always gives me something to think about in a way that I had not thought about it before. He has taught me how to be a leader, make wise choices and also encouraged me to take care of my health. Until now I never really thought seriously about what I want to be when I grow up and now I realize how important it is. I think being a mentor is a very nice thing to do to show kids you care about them and what happens to them in the future and I hope when I’m an adult I will be able to do the same thing.
Ariaunah Koster’s Story
Shellie Law and Ariaunah Koster
My mentor has had a huge impact on my life. Until Shellie, I never had a good female role model to look up to. She is someone that I know i can always talk to about whatever i need. She has especially helped me with big decisions in my life like college. Without Shellie I probably wouldn’t even be enrolled in college right now. Having a mentor has helped me see more good in the world. I think the fact that someone from the community would take time out of their schedule to come and meet with kids that at first they didn’t even know is awesome. I definitely look forward to meeting with Shellie every week. I get to talk to her about everything that is going on, and ask her advise when I need it. I think having a mentor is going to help me a lot in the future. I’ll for sure have a college education because of Shellie helping me make the decision to start my core classes at Ivy Tech. Also I know that I will always have someone to go to if I ever need to talk. This mentoring program has introduced me to someone that I can definitely see being a mentor and friend for life.
Planting Seeds
One of our mentors and her student have been meeting weekly during the school year over the past 14 months. She’s seen her student grow from a teen with little-to-no emotional responses to important events in her life to a smiling, funny young lady who also feels safe to share these events that have shaped who she is. Both the mentor and student feel each time they meet, it is one of the highlights of their week.The mentor feels this relationship is a give-give opportunity. She’s benefited from knowing this student as well. Even with the student’s family enduring the trials of job loss, losing their home, and health issues over the past couple years, they still volunteer to make blankets for the homeless and help others in any way they can. Hearing her family’s story inspires our mentor to dig deeper and to pursue opportunities to help fill the needs in our community.
This mentor has also learned an important lesson: Introducing yourself upon first meeting your students doesn’t guarantee they’ll remember your name, regardless of the fact that you are meeting on a consistent basis. The students are trying to figure out what type of person you are and what this mentoring is all about. Eventually, when a student feels their mentor is genuinely interested in them and what they are thinking, feeling, and experiencing, he or she is grateful for it. Our mentor received a thank-you card last week from her student. Here’s a quote from the card: “Thanks for everything. You’re an awesome person. Sorry if I forget your name. I have a bad memory. But thanks again for everything.”
