A. Ricky, Age 14
Q. How long have you been a mentor?
A. 3 yearsQ. What is the best thing about mentoring?
A. We have watched Ricky grow in so many ways. He's a very caring individual and is always conscious of everyone around him. Whenever we are together he's always making sure that we are having as much as he is.
Q. What has the biggest challenge been?
A. Currently he has gotten to the age of being interested in girls. He likes to talk to us about it. Rob finds it to be an uncomfortable topic (I am not as reserved), but we encourage him to be respectful and I really appreciate that he confines in us about sensitive topics.
Q. What made you become a mentor?
A. We've never really been interested in having kids ourselves, but we really enjoy being around them. We thought this would be a great opportunity to make a difference in a child's life and fill a bit of a void for us as well.
A. It is such an amazing opportunity. You get to make such a positive impact on the lives of others. A lot of kids don't have respectable role-models in their lives so it's that much more important for you to be available to fill that vacancy.
We have been fortunate enough to grow through our experience. We have learned to listen and give constructive feedback and advise that he often doesn't receive. It's an extremely powerful role we play and I know that's why he is comfortable enough to come to us for advise. We don't ever blow him off, but take his concerns seriously.
Q. What was the biggest surprise about mentoring?
A. Just how much we have gotten out of the experience. We weren't sure for the first year, but our relationship gets stronger and stronger as time goes on.
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