“I have pictures!”
The voice startled me.
Focused on the organizational aspects of the gathering—Where were the chairs for the chair-less tall café tables?—I had almost forgotten the purpose of the assembly.
Mary Lou Limbago quickly captured my full attention. She proudly showed photos of her mentee in her new haircut. She talked about her concerns and strategies for dealing with those concerns. She talked about her mentee’s dreams and how she wanted to help her fulfill those dreams. Central to the conversation was the deep abiding love for the student. Through frustrations and trials, an undercurrent of unconditional caring and pride in the student’s achievement was present and inspiring.
Later, when talking with both David Adams and Larry Vandermeer, the same undercurrent was visible.
“He is a good kid.” they both stated again and again.
Tables with varying activities allowed mentors to rotate about and learn new ideas to try with their mentees. Two tables with various games were led by Dotty Gerber, Michael Benjamin, Sharon Frost, and Betty Arriaga. Jennifer Deroin showed how to create a vision board and had the story book that she and her mentee had written and illustrated together. John Murphy and his mentee Derrick Dion had a slide show they produced with various pictures of matches.
Always present was a consistent and accepting love. Indeed, throughout the evening a good deal of bragging occurred, “My mentee…” “…and did I tell you…” “Wait until you hear what she did…” Smiles and laughter were present, as were pats of concern and sympathy as mentors shared difficult problems as well.
Mentors exchanged advice and tips on how to deal with situations they had faced. New activities were shared. Everyone came together as a community of caring individuals willing to help each other, learn from each other, and rejoice with each other over progress seen.
Thank you for coming to the Mentor Gathering!
We would like to hear what you thought of the new format.
Did you get some new ideas for working with your mentee?
Were you able to get aquainted with some other mentors and share ideas?
.JPG)