Mentoring

Whew…what a break. I’ve taken a couple of weeks off from this column for either being too busy or lack of something passionate to write about. But now I’ve got some fire.

Saturday was the fall field trip for the Jasper County Mentor Program and it was a blast. I didn’t experience the entire thing, as I missed the bus ride and the end of the trip due to a previous commitment.

You regular readers of mine know what a passion I have for this program. I have been a mentor since I moved back to Monticello three years ago —and my “mentee” Summer has become as close to me as family. You hear me refer to her a lot in this column because (as I don’t spend as much time with her as I’d like to) I see her and involve her in my life.

Being a mentor was a hesitant thing to me in the beginning. It meant giving up time-of which no one has enough of lately and it also meant being a good, positive role model for another person.

After I began, the rewards of being involved have since taken over exponentially as I love every minute that I get around those kids.

Anyway, Saturday all of the students and mentors arrived at the primary school and took a bus down to Warner Robins and began their day touring the Aviation Museum located by Warner Robins Air Force Base.

It was a beautiful fall morning and the children and adults enjoyed looking at the planes and learning about “bombs.” My mentee Summer, Elliuana “El,” her friend and another mentee along with El’s mentor, Sandra Shockley teamed up and toured the museum together.

The girls were shocked to learn about how fast planes went versus how much they weighed. They also enjoyed looking at how women fit into the Air Force in the early days and what they were required to wear depending on their job.

We were all treated to a bit of an inside perspective as Mrs. Shockley is a veteran herself and shared a lot of information and reminisced as we walked through the exhibit.

After our time at the museum, we made our way toward downtown Macon and had lunch at Ingleside Village Pizza. It was delicious and I learned that Summer does NOT like onions and El thought that the pizza was good, but had “too much cheese,” as if that’s possible.

After lunch the group was able to attend a Mercer University football game. The Mercer Bears won over Drake University, 34-17 and many of the kids (and some of the adults) got an experience that they may never get again—to attend a college football game.

I had a blast—the kids all were well behaved and were grateful for the opportunities. All in all it was an amazing day, as all of those with my mentor involvement have been.

I say all of this and express my gratitude to Jehan El-Jourbagy, who is in charge of the mentor program. She continues to put together informational, yet very enjoyable programs for the children in this community to experience.

I know that Jehan has more mentors this year than ever before—but more are still needed. If you have some time—any time to invest in a child, I suggest mentoring. It’s not only rewarding to the child, but you’ll get joy, and a lot more out of it then you can ever imagine!