What It Means to Be A Mentor

George Googassin and his mentees/ Photo credits to the photographer

The Boys and Girls Club is an after school program for children, who are able to just relax and have fun or get help with their homework. It’s a program that helps kids succeed.

The members of the Boys and Girls Club ensure that all kids excel in school and have healthy lives. The mentors there give more than just that, they’re someone that these kids look up to and to be able to say, I found a friend.

What does it mean to be a mentor?

A mentor is someone that guides a person on the right path by modeling positive behaviors. To be a mentor to a child is a challenging thing but also so rewarding to know that a child looks up to them.

George Googasian, a student of History and Psychology at Oakland Community Center, discovered his passion for helping kids after joining the Boys and Girls Club, where he now works as a mentor.

He says his experience with two students particularly changed his life.

The first one, a teen member who never got along with any other kids. She would always stick to herself and would never talk or play with anyone else. When George worked with her one on one he finally got through to her.

“We just clicked,” he said.

She was someone that he could talk with for hours and never get bored. Their relationship became like one of brother and sister.

Then there was another student who had a rough childhood and got into trouble frequently. He had dealt with a family death, which caused him a lot of distress. He wouldn't get along with the other kids at the club and he would cause issues. Then George became his mentor and started trying to help him.

He suggested that he tried to write poems or to get into art as ways to let out his emotions instead of keeping them locked inside.

The student enjoyed drawing and it became his thing to do every time he came to the club.

“I can tell when he needs to talk, I’m that person he goes to," George said.

George makes the club a safe place for the students.

He isn’t the only mentor that changed his path and decided he wanted to work with kids. Many other members of the staff at the club realized they loved working with kids and ended up switching their majors to become teachers after joining the club.

This club is more than just a place for kids to succeed, it is a place for them to grow and learn to interact with different people. And being a mentor there means being part of a family.

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