“I think it definitely helped me just realize not how much I could impact someone but just how much it means to someone to take time out of your day and hang out with them for 30 minutes or an hour,” said Anizor, who will graduate in a few weeks and attend University of Wisconsin in the fall.
For two years she’s mentored a fifth grade student at Golden Lake Elementary School in Circle Pines. The mentoring program started more than 15 years ago by pairing high school students with elementary school students, and now it’s grown to more than 140 pairs said Golden Lake Principal Chris Gerst.
“We have students constantly asking, ‘When can I get a mentor?’,” said Gerst, who has been principal for 10 years. “It’s really neat to see a mentor that you recognize as one of your former students who also might have been a mentee.”
He said the students usually spend time playing or chatting, and if the weather is nice, spending time together outdoors.
“It’s really engaged in fun time (and) play time,” said Gerst. “It’s not another worksheet. It’s not a work-related item.”
Centennial leaders asked for Gopher and Green Bay Packer running back Darrell Thompson, who has worked with the mentoring program Bolder for more than 20 years, to talk with the students about the importance of what they’re doing.
“It’s an honor,” said Thompson who is a current radio analyst for Minneosta football. He is the Gophers’ all-time leading rusher and he was picked in the first round of the 1990 NFL Draft by Green Bay.
“To whom much is given, something has to be given back,” said Thompson. “Hopefully out of that 100 kids (in the mentor program at the high school), there’s some future leaders. I believe there’s more than a few.”
“It’s definitely a lot of responsibility,” said Azinor about mentoring. “Hearing (Thompson) say it just solidifies how muc you need to be there for (the elementary students).”
