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1.) How did you get involved with mentoring?
My mentoring days began at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club in Alamance County. I was in high school and I was starting to discover that my true passion was to help people. With my purpose being established I decided to go to my local Boys and Girls Club to learn about what ways I could volunteer and be of assistance to my community. I was given the role of a Junior Counselor at the Boys and Girls Club which became the catalyst to my involvement with mentoring. Through my experience as a Junior Counselor I was able to instill and exemplify characteristics such as respect and responsibility to the children. I was able to act as an agent of positive change in the lives of the children, who were essentially my mentees, and this ultimately became a part of my heart and my purpose in life.
2.) How does being a mentor assist you in your everyday life?
In my every day life the role of a mentor assists me by pushing me to be the very best that I can be. As a mentor, it is my intention to encourage my mentees to reach their goals and utilize their gifts to their greatest abilities. However, if I am not striving towards my goals or putting my own talents to use, my work as a mentor is not very purposeful or effective. Therefore mentoring gives me that drive to keep pushing; no matter what obstacles I may face, because I want to be an example for my mentees. I want to be able to say "Look, I accomplished this , and you can accomplish whatever you put your mind to as well." Sometimes seeing a person overcome a great feat can give another person the confidence and courage to achieve their own goals.
3.) What steps are you taking beyond mentoring to help those in your community?
In addition to mentoring, I also help my community by volunteering as a tutor for citizenship classes. Also, I am currently working towards obtaining a Social Work degree which will further equip me with the appropriate tools and skills to help my community with a broad range of issues including poverty, and combatting injustice and inequality.