Carrie Easley was skeptical about the whole mentoring thing.
The Clover Park High School student had just earned a spot as a Merle Palmer scholar and, with that, a shot at a college education.
The people who manage the Palmer program know from their experience and from national data that having a mentor increases a young person’s odds of success. That’s why they assign one to each of their students.
But Easley, who had flown solo thus far, was unconvinced. Her grandmother died of cancer, and Easley spent much of her youth in foster care.
“I was like, ‘OK, I’m not really down with the whole mentor thing,’” she said. “In my life I have never had someone dedicated to me. I thought, maybe she’ll be there, maybe she won’t.”
At first, her assigned mentor, Cristie Laybourn, wasn’t there for her.
Laybourn’s life is as complex and unpredictable as anyone’s. Her job conflicted with many of the mentor meetings.
“A good amount of time in the first year I didn’t have a face to the name,” Easley said. “When I first met her, we had ups and downs. After that, we met up and have pretty much been inseparable.”
It’s all new, Easley said – having a friend who can answer questions about classes and homework, who wants to talk about career choices, and who knows whereof she speaks.
Easley, 19, graduated from Clover Park last year and attends Pierce College at its Fort Steilacoom campus. She intends to become a nurse. That puts increased academic pressure on her. She’s required, for instance, to earn a 3.0 grade in one of her English courses. She got a 2.7 instead.
“The question was whether I should move on or take the class again,” Easley said.
Laybourn, a 61-year-old from Gig Harbor, did what a great mentor should: She listened. She asked the right questions. She outlined choices and supported Easley’s decision to re-take the course.
She was herself: a sensible adult, a helpful friend.
That’s why she was one of the 10 mentors honored this month at the Pierce County Mentoring Partnership Community Breakfast.
They are a mixed lot that illustrates all the shapes mentoring can take.
• Glen Weiman matched up with 10-year-old Jeyrahn through Northwest Leadership Foundation’s Mentor253. They swim and lift weights at the YMCA, bounce around at Odyssey, take in movies and go out to eat. They chat about school, and Jeyrahn impresses Weiman with his amazing math skills.
• Jose Guzman tutors and talks with kids who come to World Vision’s programs at the Portland Avenue Community Center.
• Kandi Horton had so much fun volunteering with Artondale Elementary School’s Reading Mentor Program that she signed on as math mentor at Purdy Elementary School. Then she recruited five of her friends to enjoy the Peninsula Communities in Schools programs.
It’s all about fit and timing – and, occasionally, age.
Superior Court Judge Frank Cuthbertson, who accepted the Champion of Mentoring Award, has advised law students and brought businesses, social services and government together to expand mentorship programs.
But he wasn’t the right guy to help one of his grandson’s friends.
They were talking about a buddy who was having trouble in school and getting attracted to gang life. Cuthbertson offered to help. The boys respectfully declined. They had a younger relative in mind.
Cuthbertson wasn’t insulted. The more help, the more variety, the better.
There are 15,000 kids involved in the child welfare system in Pierce County, he said. About 90 percent of the kids who hit juvenile court are missing one or both parents. About 15 percent of kids in detention are there because no responsible adult will take them home.
Just by being dependable, sensible and lawful friends, mentors can help these kids make the kind of wise decisions that lead to a productive future.
It can be fun. It promises a new friendship. It doesn’t cost much time or money. It can fit most any lifestyle. You don’t have to be perfect.
Kathleen Merryman: 253-597-8677
kathleen.merryman@thenewstribune.com
Interested in mentoring? Check the Washington State Mentors Web site, www.wamentors.org, or call 1-866-316-8190.
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