The Power of Mentorship

In the past months, since the mentee and mentor pairs began to cultivate their relationships, mentee and mentor pairs have mutually taught and learned from each other. Hermana Cassie expressed her experience with her mentee:

“Throughout this experience with the L.A.D.Y.S program, my mentee has reminded me of the difficulties of senior year in high school. There are so many choices available but most seem to be unavailable because of financial reasons. I remember going through my senior year completely unaware of all the opportunities and help out there and I'm glad I can be there to help her out with any questions. My mentee has chosen to pursue cosmetology after graduation and she has reminded me that not everyone needs to go to college, some people have a passion for other things and as long as you are doing what you love I believe you can be successful. My mentee has a shy personality but when we get to talking she begins to open up little by little. We have moments of conversation where we can really relate and then there are moments where we teach one another about our experiences because although we are both Latinas, our families are from different countries. Overall I love being able to share my life experiences with her and also learning about how she has experienced life.”

Hermana Jackie also gave us a glimpse of what her experience with her mentee has been:

“From the past workshops, meetings and banquet, I was able to get to know my mentee a lot more than I did before. I think throughout these past couple of times we have hung out together, we have been able to be more comfortable with one another. My mentee recently shared with me that she was accepted into the AVID Program for her High School next year. AVID is an in-school college preparatory program designed to assist students in rigorous courses. Its mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. I am very proud of everything she has been able to accomplish thus far and how we have been able to make a greater connection with one another.”