To wrap up National Mentoring Month, I thought it might be interesting to hear what some students have to say about having mentors in their lives. We asked students from one of the district’s elementary schools to fill us in:

Q: How has your mentor helped you do better in school?

A: They give you a break from school. When you go with them to the library for lunch I’m ready to learn when I go back to class.

A: They are always checking on me asking me how my behavior was this week and did I study hard.

A: They always encourage me to do my best.

A: My mentor helps me understand what I didn’t get in class.

Q: What’s the best part of having a mentor?

A: My mentor makes me feel special.

A: My mentor teaches me new games that I didn’t know how to play before.

A: The best part of having a mentor is hanging with them and having lunch.

A: The parties are the best!

Q: Give me one word that means the same thing as mentor.

A: Caring

A: Kind

A: Helpful

Our list is a little longer: caring, kind, helpful, giving, encouraging, role model, listener, advisor, friend, advocate, guide, teacher… You get the picture. To find out more about how you can be all of that and more, check out our volunteer opportunities at www.austinpartners.org/volunteer.

Pat Abrams, Executive Director