Mentor Monday: Meet Lisa Marie

Patience and Kaylah

Q. Who are your mentees?
A. Patience, age 14, Kaylah, age 14, Burgandy, age 20

Q. How long have you been a mentor?

A. I started with Big Brothers/Big Sisters in 2004 before the Up Center started Team Up Mentoring.

Q. What is the best thing about mentoring?
A. Many things!  The opportunity to turn your past mistakes into a helpful story for someone else.  To be able to say to someone, "I've been where you've been and got through it.  You will, too!"

Q. What has the biggest challenge been?

Burgandy

A. In 2004, I was scared to death of taking on my first little sister, Burgandy. She made it such an incredible experience that  adding on another little sister was a must. One husband, 2 Skids, 1 baby, and 2 more Little Sisters later, I could not be more blessed.  On a more practical level, it is a challenge to compete with cell phones during our outings.  :)

Q. What made you become a mentor?

A. I would have LOVED to have a mentor when I was young - it's an amazing way to give back, although the mentors are blessed just as much as the mentees.

Q. Why would you recommend someone become a mentor?
A. Because we should all be investing into lives of the future, especially if we have our own children as an example to them. Mentoring is not for everyone, but it is for far more people than are currently doing it.

Q. What was the biggest surprise about mentoring?
A. Again, many things - how much I enjoyed the time together, how much I thought I "didn't have time" to mentor but don't want to take my mentees home when it's time to go! A surprise Middle Sister, Kaylah, who was a neighbor to Patience and wound up joining us permanently.