a blog by icouldbe.org

Thank your Mentor Day!

icouldbe — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:50:20 +0000

Today, January 26, 2012, is National Thank your Mentor Day! It seemed like a great time to turn to the students in the icouldbe.org program and find out what they have to say to their mentors.

Below is a selection of letters from mentees to their mentor in honor of Mentoring Month and Thank your Mentor Day. Their responses are truly touching and remind us that they are the reason we celebrate this month.

How are you thanking your mentor today?

A wordcloud of the letters from icouldbe.org mentees.

Dear leftyonly:

Thanks for everything you have taught until now. You have given great evidence to me that I greatly accept. With your help, I know that I can reach my job interest. With you, I will be able to excel like you did. I can’t show enough gratitude that I have because of your information. I know that because of you I am prepared.

Your mentee, Junior 704

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Dear Team2win and Ms. Maria:

I thank you for mentoring me, and teaching me new things that I needed to know. You taught me the ways I need to go to achieve my goals. Thank you for taking your time to mentor me. It is because of you that I know what jobs I want to do when I get older. Having a mentor is good for me because they show me the way to go.

Nashare704

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Dear Mentor:

Thank you for being my mentor. I would like you to write to me. If we talked, I would answer all your emails and I will ask you a few questions. Any advice you will give me I will try to achieve it. I would like to be an artist or dancer. I could see by looking at your profile that you could give me good advice.

Kayla704

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Dear volunteer9:

I would like to thank you for your assistance. I thank you for commenting on my work and telling me how I could do better. Please help me get into Princeton, Harvard or Yale, similar to what you did for college. Could you please email me things that could be further help to me? Thank you for your time.

Marino 704

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erdoc11,

I really appreciate having a fantastic mentor like you! A student, especially during their junior and senior year, cherishes having someone to guide them throughout school. Your advice and advocacy has undeniably helped make decisions towards my future. One of the great aspects of having you as a mentor is that I have also became a more ecstatic and optimistic person. I am undeniably looking forward to having you as a mentor during my senior year as well.

With much gratitude,

Soyunhorcrux

—–

Dear Mentor,

Thank you so much! You have been a GREAT person to me and of much help!

Recently you told me that I should research things about documentaries in history and I think that a great idea. I’m wondering, how did you find out about this website? But yeah, this has been a great experience so far. I find it really gnarly that some people care about students and help them achieve what they want in life. I think it is also cool that you take time off your day and do this! So I hope you and your family and friends are doing great, and have a good day – and week – and month!

Sincerely, basedgod.

—–

Dear Mentor,

The purpose of this email is to thank you for being my mentor. I want to let you know that I really appreciate what you do for me because not many people take time to do what you do. I’m glad to have a mentor like you, because with your help more doors to opportunities are going to open for me and for that I thank you.

Sincerely, Chris

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I really appreciate you taking the time to review my work. It is very helpful and I really enjoy your feedback. Thank you so much for all your help, I believe that the information you provide will help me become a better person. Hope you’re having a good day!

—–

Hey, I just wanted to say thank you so much for taking your own time to be my mentor. I have really learned a lot and you have encouraged me to go into what I really want even more. I have learned a lot about what it takes to go into medicine and I am very grateful for that. I hope you could keep being my mentor and keep giving me great advice. Thanks a lot.

—–

Thank you for being such a great mentor, I really appreciate all the help and advice you’ve given me, it’s been a lot of help. I want to say thanks for always reviewing my work so fast! I have a really good grade thanks to the fact that you review my work fast so I can move on. I’m really thankful for you, and I hope we can keep our relationship growing bigger and bigger.

Happy national mentor month!

Sincerely, liz25

—–

Happy National Mentor Month!!

I just wanted to say thank you for all your support and advice. You’ve really helped me think about my future and what I want to do with it. Thank you for helping me understand what I’m doing wrong or what I’m not doing to prepare myself for college. I really appreciate it and don’t know what I would have done without having questions answered, talk to you soon.

– Jess9

Follow along with the 2012 National Mentoring Summit

icouldbe — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:21:12 +0000

Today begins the 2nd annual National Mentoring Summit in Washington, D.C.! This year’s theme is Invest in the Future: Mentor a Child.

MENTOR lists a schedule of events here, which includes an update from First Lady Michelle Obama on the Corporate Mentoring Challenge she issued last year.

Follow along with us on Twitter for updates, quotes and important moments from the 2-day event. And don’t forget to use hashtag #MENTOR2012 to join in!

Mentor Spotlight: Chasity L.

icouldbe — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:05:33 +0000

“Working with students at icouldbe.org is truly a blessing! I feel that the work I do with them is more than just an assignment, it is a way to pass on information that could impact the rest of their life. More importantly, every email and every interaction that I have with each of my wonderful mentees is an opportunity to let them know there is someone out there who cares about them, who cares about their future, their well-being, and what is going on in their everyday life.

Every young person is impressionable and we have the ability to be a good example for them during this challenging part of growing up. It is so rewarding to have my mentees thank me for the time I give and tell me how important I am to them. Giving our time to others is one of the most special ways we can let them know how much we care.

Another reason I love being a mentor on icouldbe.org is because they make it possible for mentors to reach students all across America through their unique and brilliant use of technology!

“For while they are the youth of today, they shall be the leaders of tomorrow” -John F. Kennedy “

Mentor Spotlight: Matthew H.

icouldbe — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:01:23 +0000

It is my goal to inspire, encourage, and guide young men and women towards the future they want for themselves, regardless of where they come from. I love reading about what gets my mentee excited, it helps me gently guide them towards their passion, or even help them discover they have a passion. The feeling I get when I know I’ve genuinely helped a mentee (or anybody for that matter) really helps me appreciate my own life even more. Watching a timid, unsure young person grow to make firm, confident decisions is rewarding beyond words. It’s a feeling that every human should experience; if you aren’t helping someone now, what’s holding you back?

Thanks for this opportunity, getting involved with this program was not about recognition, it was an attempt to better myself through the action of helping others. Thanks again, for this amazing program!

Mentor Spotlight: Christopher P.

icouldbe — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:57:28 +0000

It is truly my privilege to work with icouldbe.org. I believe that today’s youth should be provided with as much information about opportunities as possible. At this stage in their lives, just about anything is possible. I try to convey that to them while providing some insight from my past experiences. I want them to understand that life is not necessarily easy or always fun. However, they will succeed as long as they are working towards a goal and that each accomplishment opens doors to other opportunities. My favorite quote by Joel Osteen summarizes my approach to mentoring, “If you can see the obstacles, then you have lost sight of your goals.”

Mentor Spotlight: Sam C.

icouldbe — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:30:48 +0000

When I was an engineering program manager in the aerospace industry, one of my most enjoyable activities was working with just degreed young engineers. Guiding them through the processes of what engineers really do, letting them, with guidance, take on and successfully complete a project provided me with great rewards. I was even able to help a few win their Professional Engineer (PE) status. When I retired I wanted to teach motivated high school seniors advanced mathematics to hopefully guide them into a STEM career. That turned out to be something that couldn’t be done for a number of reasons.

Embedded in the above is why I enjoy working with icouldbe.org students. It is my hope that by providing guidance and encouragement to those young people, some of them will choose the route I followed in my professional life. There is a tremendous need for young, bright military officers and others schooled in STEM courses and ideas. It appears that some I’ve worked with have a leaning to go in that direction, that is rewarding. This great country provided the framework within which someone like me of humble beginnings through commitment could achieve whatever they set out to do. Working with young people like those in icouldbe is one way I have of giving back. Finally, just working with young people who want to better their lives to make a greater contribution to society in the future is a significant accomplishment.

Mentor Spotlight: Summer O.

icouldbe — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:16:37 +0000

I’ve always been interested in mentoring, but working in the advertising industry it’s hard to commit to being available at the same time – on the same day – for a long period of time. And all the other mentoring programs I looked into before icouldbe.org required that type of time commitment.

Then I was watching President Obama’s inauguration speech a few years ago and something he said about giving back to our communities and making a commitment to make the world a better place really struck a cord with me. I couldn’t sit by any longer, so I searched for a program that would give me an opportunity to give back through mentoring yet still work with my unpredictable schedule. And that’s when I found icouldbe.org. It’s the perfect fit. And I have to say that working with these kids inspires and teaches me so much, that being a part of this program is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Mentor Spotlight: Sandy C.

icouldbe — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:59:16 +0000

Hi, my name is Sandi and I’m an excited new mentor with icouldbe.org! While I’ve only been a mentor for one semester so far, I know there are many more semesters ahead given how much I’ve already gained from the experience.

I am working with three mentees who all have very different personalities and unique ways of approaching their assignments. The one thing that they all have in common is a determination to be the best they can be. While getting to know my mentees, and as they get to know me, I discovered that we have something in common. I, like they, came from at-risk neighborhoods and schools, but had a great family, friend and teacher support system to tap into and discover that I had as great a potential to succeed as anyone else. I am hoping my experiences and “rear view mirror” perspective will be as useful to my mentees as my own mentors’ caring and personal experiences were to my success.

Having worked in a corporate enviornment now for three decades and always deferring mentoring because I never seemed able to find the time, I am thrilled that e- mentoring is not only a possibility but also a great way to connect with students. In the short time I have been mentoring, it’s obvious that although my mentees and I have never met in person, we are getting to know each other and building relationships that are as rich as if we were sitting across a table from each other.

Can we get 500 new mentors to sign up this month?

icouldbe — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:32:44 +0000

January is National Mentoring Month, so what better time to recruit new mentors?

Last year, we set a goal to sign up 300 new e-mentors during Mentoring Month – and we far surpassed that goal and had well over 300 people sign up.

This year, we’ve set a new goal: to recruit 500 new online mentors during January!

We are inviting those from all industries to sign up. But there are certain areas where we especially need mentors. These industries include:

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
Health Sciences
Creative Arts

Do you, or does someone you know, work in one of these industries?

Please help us spread the word this month so we can reach our goal of recruiting 500 new mentors! It only takes an hour a week per mentee, and you can access icouldbe.org from anywhere you have an Internet connection – your office, home or your daily commute. You can truly make a difference in the life of a student, and positively impact their future through the power of e-mentoring.

We have 1500 students currently in the program and another 300 starting the program in the next two months, so the more support for all of them, the better! With 500 new mentors, all of our students will have the support they need to succeed.

Check here for real-time updates on our new mentor sign-ups.

Photo credits:
working. October 30 2011: Violette79 on Flickr.com Creative Commons

President Obama proclaims January ‘Mentoring Month’

icouldbe — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:56:50 +0000

President Obama recently released a proclamation designating January as National Mentoring Month. In the official statement, he stressed the importance of a mentor’s influence on America’s youth, and recaps the latest progress of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Corporate Mentoring Challenge.

Here is an excerpt from the statement:

“Every day, mentors help young Americans face the challenges of growing into adulthood. By setting a positive example and sharing their time, knowledge, and experience, mentors play an essential role in preparing our Nation’s youth for a bright future. During National Mentoring Month, we celebrate the contributions of all those who cultivate a supportive environment for the next generation, and we recommit to expanding mentorship opportunities across our country.

At school and at home, in the library and on the field, mentors lift our youth toward their goals and ambitions. As a teacher, a relative, or a trusted friend, a mentor’s steady and dependable support can inspire a child to strive for success and instill in them the confidence to achieve their full potential. Mentorship strengthens our American family, and by teaching enduring values like diligence and self-discipline, we make a powerful and lasting investment in our youth, our communities, and our Nation.”

We couldn’t agree more.

For the full proclamation, click here.