Personal Narrative: Former Mentor

I’ve never really thought of myself as having a mentor, I mean yeah I have my family, friends, and all of the people that care for me around me, but when I really think about it Terry would have to be my mentor. Terry has help me through so much! My track career and has made me a better thrower, and a better person. He always gives off a really good vibe and he treats all of his kids like one of his own, and as me coming in as a freshman it really helped not having one awkward moment in this track year because of Terry.

My senior project began with me stepping into a unique and exciting world; an adventure into modeling. I found myself wanting to learn everything regarding becoming a model and ways to break out of my shell and into a new comfort zone. The goals I planned before I finalized this project is to be in my first personal photo shoot, why? I loved seeing how rewarding it is to be photographed, and the self-esteem that builds within. The beginning of this project I had questions about what sort of person I am now and how I will shape afterwards, my road to gain these answers by how much work and effort I can accomplish this summer. My progress so far hasn’t been enough to modify my mindset into a people person professional, this has made shape into

“Nothing ever goes my way!” we, as teenagers, sometimes like to think. I, myself have been caught thinking this same way when I desire something, whether it be a tangible item, or a chance to hangout with some friends. Upon completing my senior project, my eyes were wide open. I have always been aware that there are homeless and impoverished people in Sacramento, but witnessing a large number of less fortunate children in one setting, whom all feel that “having a little” is the way of life was a bit appalling to me. There isn’t much that I could have done for the children financially, but I do feel that I left an impression on some of the children’s hearts.

In the fall of my freshman year, I began an internship with Children Beyond Our Borders, Inc. (CBOB), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing at-risk youth in Latin America and Central Florida with access to equal opportunities for education. My involvement with CBOB has grown immensely since then: I now also serve as an officer for their UF student chapter, volunteer with children in their local program, and work with students in Colombia every summer through their Bound for Peace program. In October, I was awarded “CBOBer of the Year” for my all-around commitment.

My mother, an ed tech for a child in the fifth grade, is someone I consider to be my educational mentor. She is efficient in her job, cares about the child she was assigned to, and pays specific attention to the curriculum being taught in the classroom to ensure that the student she supervises is receiving the best possible education.

that all students can be successful. We have student tutors avaliable for several classes. Call

An attentive, dedicated student, I comfortably grasp and comprehend information in large groups, but I nonetheless appreciate intimate, one-on-one interaction with my advisors. Others with whom I attend school and work are unaware, as I seemingly acquire enough knowledge in the classroom and during training, respectively. What my friends and coworkers overlook is the discomfort that I experience when my mentors stand aloof from my interests, my concerns, and me.

My advisor is Laura Jennings and she works in the Student Center but she has many more jobs. Not only she an advisor, she also a student coach and a teacher at RCC. Even with a busy schedule, she able to see you within short notice. Longs time I’ve waited to see her was about one day, but the matter wasn’t urgent. Theirs has been times where I’ve just shown up at her office without notice and she was able to see me. The first time I met her, I was with my brother so he could help me get the classes that I needed. At first I was very confused with the names of the courses and the numbering of them, but she was able to explain everything to me. And she was very knowledgeable about the colleges I wanted to attend. Her attitude is very positive,

My major personal, professional, and educational challenge is English as a second language. I believe that this is my major constraint preventing me from speaking up, having difficulty to find appropriate words to express some ideas quick enough, and affects my writings. With having this limitation, takes me long time to complete my assignments compared with other students. However, at work I have learned to communicate very well with others with topics related to my career. Unfortunately, when there is the need to talk about different topics I have very limited vocabulary. With this limitation, the only way to come around is to continue working very hard in improving my writing, learning new vocabulary each day in school with all the assigned

In both Camden and Lindenwold, there are initiatives to help reduce “the gap” between the town’s students and students from the wealthier surrounding areas. In Camden, and in fact, across the nation, there is a program called JumpStart. In Lindenwold, one if the high school english teachers has started a non-profit named Book Smiles.

At School X, they hold strong belief that AfL needs to be a part of every lesson to create independent learners. They focus on lessons driven by WALT (we are learning to) and WILFs (what I am look for) as well as rich questioning, peer- and self-assessment, amongst many other key strategies to develop learners to their full potential.

I teach Career Technical Education in a Title one high school for students who are in a credit recovery program, some with poor attendance and others that are struggling academically. Participating in the Kenan Fellows Program would grant me access to experience, tools and resources, which will increase my knowledge base. My goal is to incorporate this training into my lessons to connect and increase students’ enthusiasm for learning, thereby increasing student retention.

There have been many people in my life that had served as a mentor to me. This one in particular has had the biggest impact on my life so far. He was my basketball coach, Coach Ham. Our relationship ever since the first day I saw him has always been good. We both met at the Euclid High School girl’s gym. My sister had basketball practice that day and the coach wanted me to go up there too. When I walked into the gym, I saw him sitting in an athletic sports chair on the side yelling out plays to run to the other girls. After my sister, Rashida, introduced me to him, he asked me if I wanted to practice with them, probably because I had already had my basketball gear on from my previous practice at the middle school. I did and but didn’t want to practice with them because they were all older than me. I thought I would not be able to keep up with the other girls and they would get angry at me or I would slow them down. After a lot

My previous manager unforgettable. His name was Farshad, he provided me inspirational motivation, eventually becoming a true surprising mentor. He motivated me to further my education, directed me towards a path for career advancement. He explained to me having an education combined with work experience, would benefit me. I always envisioned going back to school, but never knew which educational route I needed for my career advancement. So, I never took the necessary steps to move forward.

Tell us about an experience, in school or out, that taught you something about yourself and/or the world around you.