Mentor Monday: Meet Rob

Q. Who is your mentee?
A. Elisha, Age 15

Q. How long have you been a mentor?

A. 2-1/2 years

Q. What is the best thing about mentoring?
A. The best thing about mentoring is the opportunity to make both a short-term and long-term positive impact in someone else's life. By giving your time, your knowledge and wisdom, and maybe most importantly your undivided presence and attention, you can bring happiness and insight to your mentee. In the process, you can have some child-like fun yourself.

Q. What has the biggest challenge been?
A. The challenge is in making the most of the opportunity. As a lawyer who leads a busy life, I am sometimes tired and preoccupied when I spend time with Elisha, which is generally just a few times per month. I need to remind myself that I am or can be a role model, that my time with Elisha is precious, and that I need to sometimes be intentional about what I say and do.

Q. What made you become a mentor?
A. The desire to help someone. As the quote goes, "you make a living by what you get; you make a life by what you give."

Q. Why would you recommend someone become a mentor?
A. Several reasons. To name a few: it makes you more selfless. It's fun. It could be good training for parenting down the road.

Q. What was the biggest surprise about mentoring?
A. You can look forward to it as much as hanging out with friends or doing  one of your favorite hobbies.

Q. Anything else you'd like to share?
A. Elisha was 5'7", 130 lbs. when we first started hanging out.  Less than three years later, he's now a 6'2", 240 lbs. varsity football player who, at the age of just 15, is probably often mistaken for my peer or ! It's a good thing they dropped the big brother/little brother designation, as otherwise we'd have it twisted. Ha ha.