Mentoring

This last semester, I spent one day a week going to a local classroom and mentoring a second grade student. We spent between 25 and 45 minutes together each week. Often I would have Saqueo read to me, but sometimes we did some writing and other times we played some card games.

Over the time we spent together, I found out just a few things about Saqueo. I found out right away that he is bilingual, and English was actually his second language, but he did speak both languages quite well for only being in second grade. He told me his favorite sport is soccer, and he loves P.E. He seems like he is an active little boy, but he was also very shy. In fact, he reminded me a little of myself when I was his age. 

One of my favorite parts about meeting with Saqueo was the stories he would read. Some of them were in English, and some in Spanish, but I managed to understand them just fine. He seemed to enjoy reading in Spanish a little bit more than English, and had slightly better fluency in the Spanish books. But no matter what he was going to read to me, my favorite part was how excited he looked when I arrived each week. It was always in those moments that I knew what I was doing was really making a difference in someone else's life. I felt like it didn't matter how big or small the world was, I could still help change it. 

For me, that's what a lot of this semester was for me. I got to see where I was making a difference, and see the happiness I created for someone else. Furthermore, I got to see how I could be myself and still be a role model.

I'm not sure how much impact I had on Saqueo's life, but I can sure tell the impact he had on mine.