Mentors for the GEAR UP program had their first meeting of the 2007-2008 school year in February when a group of junior and senior volunteers went into freshmen science classes.

“When I first walked into Ms. Marin’s classroom with Cynthia, I felt nervous. I had no idea what their response was going to be,” says senior Alejandra Alvarez. “We started our introduction and when I began talking to them, I started to relax. At first I was really embarrassed, but then I started to enjoy talking to them,”

Once a month, mentors go to their assigned classes to talk about different topics to their mentees. They go in pairs and introduce themselves and the topic. Then, they split up the class into groups and start with a game as an introduction to the topic of the day. February’s topic was “getting to know you.”

Being a mentor can be a meaningful experience because it provides students who have been successful in high school an opportunity to guide freshmen and try to make an impact on their lives.

Senior Hazel Nevarez says, “During the March meeting, a mentee came up to me to talk about her grades. I felt great that she knew that she could get help from me. I hope to make an impact on their lives, and I want them to know that they can always find a friend in me. Being a mentor is great opportunity to help other students.”

Mentors also have the chance to talk to freshmen and maybe help them with things they thought were the most difficult to deal with when they were a freshmen. “Having mentors in classes helps because you get to see how their high school experience was, and they can help you if you have any questions about your classes or just being a student here at C.V.,” says Oscar Cabrera, a freshman.

“To me, being a mentor has been a great experience; I see that teachers and mentees appreciate our presence and that they are ready to learn something from us. I highly recommend to future seniors or juniors that they join the GEAR Up Mentor program; it is an unforgettable experience. I hope to get more from being a mentor than what I have already gotten,” says senior Maria Aguilar.

Being a mentor also provides an opportunity to make a lot of new friends and maybe adopt a little family of brothers and sisters at school because not everyone has another family member at school to turn to for advice or help. And, since mentoring is not limited to support for academics, a mentor could attend sporting events or activities the mentees are involved in to show them they care.

Mentors can make a difference in another person’s life just as being one can be a life changing for the mentor as well.

New volunteers will be needed to replace this year’s graduating seniors. Anyone who is interested in making a difference should see Ms. Mungia in the counseling office.