I’m proof of how mentoring can change a life
January is National Mentoring Month and I would not be who I am today without receiving mentorship that started in my youth and continues into my career today.
Research shows mentoring can be life changing for young people. Caring mentors, and the companies that support these programs, can change the entire trajectory of a child’s life.
My story reflects those findings in action. I grew up in Southeast Newport News, in poverty, as the youngest in my family. An Achievable Dream was a lifesaver in exposing me to opportunities outside of my unsettled community.
The faculty at An Achievable Dream were more than educators; they were mother and father figures to their students. My class of 2004 was the first to complete its entire education with An Achievable Dream and graduate as “Dreamers.” To this day, our cohort remains connected.
From the moment I started being mentored, I felt seen for the first time. An Achievable Dream made it their personal mission to help shape me into the person I am today — to instill the all-encompassing moral, social and academic education that is the focus of this program. This program focused on the whole child through social-emotional and character development with a strong emphasis on building relationships.
Faculty members such as Mr. Jackson and Mr. Reed would always ensure that I was on the right path. They cared about me as a student and saw something greater in me than I saw in myself. By the seventh grade, I started to realize their guidance was succeeding.
This strong mentorship kept me engaged and focused: from morning greetings to after school clubs such as Fitness Club and Computer Club, to Saturday School and summer programming. In each of these experiences I had exposure to new mentors who introduced me to different subjects and skills.
Those touch points year-round would not have been possible without the generous support of the community.
My life has come full circle. I am now a proud An Achievable Dream alumna and am employed at PRA Group, an organization that funds this program through corporate philanthropy. The mentorship I received set me up to take advantage of the professional development, coaching and mentoring opportunities my company offers, which has been invaluable to helping me advance. And, if ever I find myself unsure how to tackle a challenge, I know I can reach out to my teachers, mentors and former classmates for advice and support.
During school-shutdowns caused by COVID-19, students around the world missed out on opportunities to engage with their teachers or their peers in the way that I did. Now that this need is heightened and the stakes are even higher, it is up to us to help fill this gap.
There are so many local organizations who support mentorship, from An Achievable Dream and Junior Achievement to Eggleston, the United Way of South Hampton Roads’ United for Children program and Girls on the Run, to name a few of those that my company supports.
This National Mentoring Month, consider finding an individual or organization where you can offer your mentorship, whether at the academic, extra-curricular or career level. There are countless ways to volunteer your time to make a lasting impact in the community. You can also support mentoring programs through individual and corporate giving. Partnerships like PRA Group’s with An Achievable Dream make the yearlong programming possible. They also make scholarships available to people like me — highly motivated first-generation students who have the drive but lack the financial means.
By supporting mentoring programs, we make a lasting impact in the lives of young people. For me, knowing there was someone there to lift me back up if I fell, made all the difference. Every child needs that.