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UNH mentors gain as much as they give

LifeWise Community Press Releases: Sep 14, 2004

During the prime years of their lives, many young teens are faced with issues of family, peer pressure and low academic performance, which are just a few of the influences that can make or break their fragile world. Since October 2003, UNH students of the Wildcat Youth Mentor Program have worked hard to help and guide children of local schools, like the Barrington Middle School, into realizing the potential they have to succeed in life.
Bruce A. Montville EE, a UNH alumnus and founder of LifeWise Community
Projects, Inc., a nonprofit service organization and sponsor of the Wildcat Youth Mentor Program, has dedicated much of his time and energy into making the program a positive influence for both UNH students and young teens of the local community.
According to Montville, young teens needed mentoring to help build their self confidence and become more assured with themselves, their classmates and their work.
The goal of the school-based program is to guide young teens along "the path of self-esteem," leading to high school graduation, according to Montville.
The mentors serve as a valuable support system for the children. They are there to offer genuine friendship and responsible advice without appearing to be superior during the children's conflicting years of adolescence, according to a LifeWise brochure.
At Barrington Middle School, the mentors worked with children who were enrolled in either sixth, seventh or eighth grade. Each week they would meet for one hour, based on the mentor's schedule, to help with homework, to socialize or to just listen to the children's' problems.
Lindsay Morin, who majors in social work, is a senior this year at UNH.
This will also mark her second year participating in the mentor program.
"It [is] pretty much like hangout time for us," Morin said. "We play basketball, run around the playground and I help him out with some homework, too."
According to Morin, consistency is an important thing to consider when making sure to come in on that one day per week for one hour. "The kids just look forward to it so much," she said.
The program also offers the opportunity for UNH students to list it as a community service project in their resumes, receive a letter of reference or even gain possible internships.
Morin has been working with LifeWise Community Projects, Inc. for about three years and is pleased to continue working with the mentor program at Barrington Middle School, where she also received an internship as a guidance counselor.
"I want to be a counselor, and a friend, to establish relationships with children and make an impact for them," Morin said. "I think it helps build their self confidence for them to go through school and hopefully consider college."
Mentors range from freshmen to graduate students, as well as doctorate students. UNH students and alums have been chosen for the program since they all have proven their success by already achieving college student status.
Montville was amazed last fall about recruiting no less than 30 UNH mentors who have all had some previous mentor experience, whether it was in counseling, summer camps, or any other programs related to one-on-one mentoring.
"I think that says something about UNH students," he said. "That it is a part of their lifestyle."
Lauren DeRienzo, a junior at UNH majoring in both psychology and criminal justice, interned at Worcester Juvenile Probation in Massachusetts as an assistant probation officer, and also worked with children of terminally ill parents.
"I've worked with a lot of kids, preferably middle school and up," DeRienzo said. "At that age, it is just hard to find your place sometimes in life."
When DeRienzo first entered the school grounds of Barrington Middle School, she was reminded of how she was back then.
"It reminded me of how I felt like in middle school, when I was a short, brace-faced, crooked teeth, little girl with a big, old backpack," she said. "It was nice to go back to that innocence and relive it, because we forget about days like those when being at college."
DeRienzo admits that when she first started working with her mentee, it was not that easy to establish communication. "She wouldn't look me in the eye, and would always look down or away," she said. "But I kept coming in every week, and after a month she finally started to open up her barrier and trust me. To know when your mentee starts linking onto you is a very rewarding feeling."
Even when DeRienzo was on a trip to Italy, she continued the relationship with her mentee by e-mail through the Barrington Middle School.
Stephanie Jackson, a senior at UNH majoring in communication disorders, has had her own experience in working with young children as an assistant speech therapist and now works at a preschool in Concord, N.H.
She recalls the little girl she helped during the mentor program. "She was from a broken home, and for me to help her out with school or anything else made me feel almost like a mother figure for her," she said.
Once Jackson found out about her mentee's interest in cheerleading, she took it upon herself to schedule gymnasium time to help her practice during their sessions together, as long as she didn't have homework.
"I could see there was definitely a lot of improvement in her work, and she even ended up making the team," Jackson said. "It was a great experience for me to know that I have touched the life of a child."
Peter Warburton, principal of the Barrington Middle School, also expressed his appreciation for a successful first year of the mentor program.
"Our goal with the program was to promote what a college student is like, and to try to get the kids to aspire and look ahead in their lives into thinking about college," Warburton said.
"Some of the teachers saw a lot of improvement in the kids' social skills and class work," he continued. "It was a way to connect some of our kids, and I think it had a very positive effect on them."
This year, the Wildcat Youth Mentor Program will continue with the Barrington Middle School, in addition to programs at Oyster River High School and Newmarket Jr. High School.
Recruitment for the program is available now until the week of Oct. 10, when there will be a short orientation and training for all mentors. Then students will start mentoring beginning on Oct. 18.
For more information on the program and signing up, contact Lauren DeRienzo by phone at (774) 258-0711, or e-mail at lmdr@cisunix.unh.edu, or call Bruce A. Montville EE at (603) 929-0832 or e-mail at bmontville@lifewise-nh.org.

Bruce A. Montville EE
President & CEO