TeamMates Of The Month
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"Yes, he seems very impressed by that," Kyle says.
It's because Kyle works at Westgate Bank that he is a TeamMate. "The bank encourages its employees to be involved in the community. Mark Hansen, my boss, suggested TeamMates."
Because Kyle had been interested in TeamMates, he looked into the opportunity. That was more than five years ago. He and Logan have been meeting just about every week for those five years. It's easy to see the respect the two TeamMates have for each other.
They play a variety of games, put together models, and touch on schoolwork. "Mostly we have fun and hang out," Kyle says. "For the little amount of time we spend together, I'm surprised at the impact on him."
Logan, a middle school student, says he looks forward to the day he too can be a mentor. When asked what it takes to be a good mentor, Logan answered: "You need to get along with kids."
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Janice discovered TeamMates in approximately 2004. She was a Book Buddy for Shawna for two years at McPhee Elementary. When Shawna moved into 4th grade, Shawna's teacher recommended she have a mentor. "It was a natural that I became her mentor," Janice said. She has been Shawna's mentor since.
Shawna will be going into 8th grade and will be attending Goodrich Middle School at Dawes.
When she and Janice spend their one hour a week, they sometimes play computer games or complete crafts, Shawna said, such as friendship bracelets or crocheting.
Was the crocheting a skill that Shawna learned from Janice? Actually, she had helped Janice relearn.
Janice comes to school once a week and then she usually sets the time for their next week's visit at that time, so Shawna knows from week to week when they will meet.
Mentoring has helped Shawna overcome shyness. When asked what her favorite part of having a mentor is, Shawna said she likes getting away from class for a while. At first, she needed help her with homework. Now she's getting good grades and getting her schoolwork done, so they get to do crafts.
She doesn't need the scholastic piece, Janice said. She already does an excellent job with her school work. Janice believes she best helps Shawna by being there and listening to what is going on in her life. Janice thinks it's important for Shawna to know that someone is going to be there consistently and that she has someone to listen and be there for her. "She can be who she is around me."
As far as planning activities, Janice knows the activities Shawna likes to do. Sometimes they play games and complete crafts. Sometimes Shawna teaches Janice new crafts. Sometimes they take a walk outside around the grounds of school.
In order to stay in contact over the summer, the two have been emailing each other.
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Larry and Harry have been Teammates since Harry was in the fourth grade and their bond is one of friendship and respect for each other.
"I've watched him develop as a young man," Larry says of Harry. "I've never known anyone with a heart as pure as his."
Every Friday for the past five years, Larry and Harry have met for lunch. Those times have been life-changing for both of them.
"He came along when I had no friends and showed me how to make friends," Harry said. "He has taught me life skills."
Larry, who owns a business and is a United Methodist pastor, struggles to express what he has experienced. "I can't put into words what happens and what it means to watch growth in a young person."
Being a TeamMate is not a new experience for Larry. Tom Osborne recruited Larry early in the program's beginning. In 1992, Tom gave Larry the instruction to kick off TeamMates at the Nebraska State Education Association in Kearney, which he did. And now, Harry is Larry's third mentee.
"TeamMates is a sure way to give back to the community," Larry says. "So often people lament, ‘What can I do as an individual? I'm just one person.' You can coach a young person and make a big difference in their -- and your -- life, that's what."
"It doesn't take a lot to be a mentor," according to Harry. "Just show up and listen."
He would know. Every Friday for an hour Larry shows up and listens, and he and Harry go through life together.
Harry sums it up this way: "Without my TeamMate, I would be nothing like I am today."
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Grace Kluck was a sixth grader when she suffered a concussion, a serious injury that took her out of school for several weeks. As a middle school student, she found it extremely difficult to return to school, her friends and the way life had been before the accident.
And then Lauren and Grace met. Lauren was a freshman in college volunteering at a middle school as part of a field assignment when she met sixth grader Grace, who had become shy and withdrawn after the head trauma and separation from school and friends.
"We clicked from the beginning," Lauren said. Lauren remembered how hard it had been to come back after a long break from friends and social circles. She knew Grace must be going through the same thing. That was the connection and the foundation of a mentoring relationship.
They became TeamMates when Grace was in the seventh grade. As the two spent their one hour a week talking about life issues, Grace grew in confidence and spirit. In high school she won competitions in speech and theater and vocal music.
Grace explains it this way: "Lauren taught me to be confident in who I was and to break out of my shell so that by the time high school rolled around I was a bold confident girl who loved the performing arts."
And now, after six years with Lauren as her TeamMate, Grace is getting ready for college. She graduates this year from North Star and plans to go to University of Nebraska-Lincoln to study broadcasting with a minor in vocal music.
"It's just so amazing," Lauren said as she reflects on Grace when they first met and who she is today. "I'm so proud of her and all she's accomplished!"
- See past TeamMates of the Month
- Student and mentor award recipients
See who was inducted into the Mentors Hall of Fame and who received Student Achievement Awards in 2010. (As a policy, the last name of students is withheld).
