As a future educator, I love nothing more than spending time with kids and learning alongside them. I think that kids have such an incredible and magical way of viewing the world, and I think that as adults we lose sight of that. This is one of the many reasons that I decided I wanted to teach. I found that the College Mentors for Kids program was a great way for me to get back in the classroom and be able to work with children.

As a mentor in this program, I am paired with a little buddy between first and sixth grade for the school year, and I couldn't be more excited. There is research that shows that kids that have mentors look to their future in a more positive light, and are able to begin making plans about what they want to do with their life sooner than kids without mentors. So, for me as a mentor, each week, I get to spend time with my little buddy and do fun activities with them! We get to do these activities with our buddy families, or the other groups of mentors and little buddies at our school. I also get to learn more about my buddy; their hobbies, what they want to be when they grow up, and their culture. Not only does my little buddy grow from this experience, but I also get to grow from the experiences and time we share together!

But I can't do all of this without your help! Please consider donating to my page so that I can meet my fundraising goal this year! We self-fundraise so that our little buddies don't have to pay a large amount of money to be a part of this program. That way, any child that would like to have a mentor for the school year is able to do so! By helping me raise money for this program, we can continue this program on campus and allow all children the option to learn and grow through having a mentor!