Mentor Coordinator Report
Stories & Quotes To Share:
Pranks for coming!
April fool’s day is usually a fun little holiday for pulling pranks and jokes on your friends and family. For some of the more mischievous matches at LMS, it is a time to prove your sense of humor and trust in your partner. Some pranks were relatively simple: Hiding around a corner then jumping out at their mentor and yelling something at them; or giving them an empty box that they claim to have a present in. These small interactions showcase the comfort that the students feel when interacting with the mentors, as many people, even middle schoolers, are not quick to prank a stranger. The best prank in the program came two weeks later. A mentee, who had been pranked on April fools day, had all of Spring Break to think about and prepare for revenge. Armed with a chocolate bar full of spicy peppers, they achieved their revenge and got to share a few laughs about what they would do next year.
The Long Game
Mentorship is a long-term commitment. It requires hours and hours of building trust and getting to know someone. Especially here at the middle school level, mentorship takes a long time. Most people think of mentorship only in the terms of practical benefits for the mentees, rather than the hard work and commitment it takes to achieve them. A lot of the matches here at LMS take time before you begin seeing results. I matched a pair last year, and despite the student having fun, the mentor was a little discouraged about the meetings. He wondered if he was really having an impact, just coming to the school and playing games and chatting. I encouraged him to stick to the plan and play the long game. Trust is not something built in a day or a week, it is the response to consistent and trust-worthy companionship. This month, that mentor came to talk to me after his meeting and told me that they had the best conversations with their mentee over the last few weeks. The mentor said that he felt he had made progress with his mentee and was feeling excited for the future of the match. This progress came not from a single moment or piece of advice, but from a year and a half of patience, companionship and “playing silly games.” Mentorship will always have an impact, sometimes you just have to wait a while to see it.
Highlights:
30 Matches
10 pranks pulled
Waitlist: 22 Interested
Days till Summer: 44
1 New match this month
Upcoming:
Aim and Game: May 12th – End of year celebration for mentoring pairs
Number of Current Matches: 30
Submitted by Samm Van Kirk – vankirks@lynden.wednet.edu