Before: Parties, Fights and Music - After: College, Connections and Music

When mentees join our mentoring program they open themselves to endless possibilities. Sometimes we must be patient for them to recognize all that is available to them.  We have an expression: “we meet our youth where they are at, not where we think they should be".  When I met Griselda, she did not care about school and was behind on her credits. At first when I would see her she would update me on her current activities, which involved life in Northeast Los Angeles: parties, fights and music. During program sessions Griselda would spend her time texting her friends.  Her mentor Nova, would physically have to take her phone away in order for her to pay attention. 

We never give up on our youth.  We keep encouraging them and offering more opportunities until the defenses go down.  So finally, Griselda made the turn and began to show up for herself and all that is available to her at YMC.  She started getting more involved with YMC’s Urban Oasis Film Academy where she was able to collaborate with other mentees from different programs and write, direct and act in several of the films.  She also enrolled in a continuation program to catch up on her credits. When I would see her, she would update me on her school and how her grades were getting better.

Griselda also started coming to our Echo sessions.  Echo is the last Friday of every month where mentees and mentors from all programs are invited to come together for deep conversation about the things that hold us back in life.  This is where she met more mentees and mentors. One mentor that she met at Echo was Julie Pilat, Program Director/Music Director at KISS FM.  Griselda has a passion for music and now wants to get into the music industry.  When she spoke to a  teacher about her dream of working in the music industry she was told "look at where you're from; you're not going to make it". This made Griselda furious.  After finding out that Julie works in the industry, Griselda took the initiative to reach out to Julie and asked her if she can job shadow her.  Julie agreed, all Griselda needed was a ride to the studio. She was able to reach out to Christilily Chiv, who was a program coordinator at YMC.

On November 20, 2012 Griselda was on her first job shadow day at KISS FM studios in Burbank,  excited about what the day had in store for her.  It started with a tour of the studio and a meeting with Julie and her team. Julie then took Griselda to "A Place Called Home" youth center, where Griselda got to meet Nick Cannon who was there to speak with the youth. Griselda had a wonderful, fun, life- changing experience during her job shadow day.

Griselda is currently catching up on her grades and is planning to return to public school in January. Her conversations with me are no longer about parties and fights but are now about  going to college and getting internships in the music industry. She wants to send a special Thank You and shout out to her mentor Nova, Julie Pilat, KIIS/FM, Christilily and Youth Mentoring Connection.

submitted by Pedro Gomez

Mentoring Does Not Suck

We know mentoring can really change a young person’s life, but Alba was becoming disenchanted with the mentoring program after two mentors in a row were unable to stick with it.

We were concerned that if the next mentor didn’t work out we might lose Alba.  Her attitude was getting worse and she said that she wanted out of the program.  She even said that the program “sucked”.
But we don’t give up so easily…and we don’t judge our youth for their attitude.  We look beneath their pain and offer unconditional support.  Besides, she had good reason to be upset.

So, we found another mentor and asked Alba to “do us a favor” and come to the first 4 sessions and if she still wants to quit after that, “we won’t bug you anymore”.  She agreed.  So I get to the session where Alba would meet her new mentor, and to my dismay, this mentor did not show up!  I was on the verge of panic.  It would be devastating to let this girl down yet again.  Now, Tony is always telling us to “Trust The Process”.  He believes that mentoring is divinely inspired.  We could use some divine intervention here...

...and it showed up - in the form of a wonderful woman named Jill.  At that same session another youth who was supposed to be matched with Jill had to drop out of the program, leaving Jill without a mentee. We took that as a sign and put Alba and Jill together, even though Jill appeared to be a very firm and assertive mentor and Alba was a little rocker girl with a bit of an attitude and some understandable resistance. 

 

No kidding, a month later, Alba called me PERSONALLY to thank us for matching her with this mentor, and expressed how much Jill contacts her, and how often they hang out, etc!  I was so excited because I noticed how Alba’s attitude was transformed, how she began calling YMC to see when the next session was, and would always thank us after each session!  Mentoring doesn’t ‘suck’ anymore!

What’s more, Alba's grades and attendance have improved, and she said her confidence and self esteem increased tremendously within this year being mentored by Jill!  I am fortunate to have witnessed this transformation and to see this girl become a better version of herself all within a year! She is such a  sweet and pleasant person to be around.  It has been a privilege to watch Alba grow!  She and Jill are still hanging out and talking, even though the program formally ended 2 months ago. This is definitely a Success Story.  Mentoring works! J

By Shonnica Croom 11/12/2012

Our Guardian Angels

At our Odyssey Mentoring Session we enjoyed a beautiful day at Kenneth Han Park. There were mentees and mentors getting to know each other, playing cards games and enjoying playing competitive sports. Towards the end of our session, there was a game of kick ball where our mentees and mentors decided to go against each other. The mentors won, however, the mentees insisted that their mentors cheated. The session ended by sharing to the group who their guardian angel was, which was a name randomly chosen by everyone from a small box. Like every session, our youth and mentors left the park with warm hearts and with a stronger bond than the previous session.

Paramount Survivor

Mentors and Mentees were split up into four groups and had to work as a team to finish "YMC Survivor". They had several stages to clear, from a brain teaser to crossing the lava river as a team, and walking a mine field with their eyes closed and other more stages.

Odyssey- What's my gig

In this session the mentees and mentors in Odyssey had a great time playing the game "What's my gig". We invited a group of people with diverse jobs to join a pannel and talk about the work they do. The mentees had to figuere out the type of job each panelist did by asking questions and matching the name next to their job title. After the mentees match each person with their job they had an opportunity to sit and talk to them about what it takes to their job.

Shout ! Factory- SMC Tour

In this session the mentees and mentors had an opportunity to take a guided tour on the Santa Monica College Campus. They visited the SMC athletic department, library, dance department and the different buildings where several classes take place. This was a great opportunity for mentees to ask questions and start exploring new routes for their life.

WB Debate

Yesterday at our WB Session, Tony and Juliana lead a Debate Session that gave a voice to some of the quietest Mentees in our Program. With the wonderful support of their Mentors, the Mentees developed arguments and rebuttals that would help them win their case. It was exciting to see the Mentors guide their Mentees on this competition. However, the Mentees surprised themselves as they won cases and learned from their losses. This session could have not been possible if it wasn't for our WB Mentors. Thank you so much for Always showing up for all of our Mentees.

Odyssey- Empowerment Session

In this session the youth and the mentors received an opportunity to learn what is sexuality and gender and what it is like to be seen as men and women in society. The activity consisted of a discussion and a moment of sharing between men and women about their continous struggles.