Essay 4: Mentoring Lessons: Paying It Forward

A piece of scratch paper or even a napkin will do, but it’s a worthwhile task to write down the names of people who have made an investment in your life, whether through long-term engagement or an all-too-brief encounter—people whose impact has reverberated throughout your life and had a hand in shaping you. Maybe you recollect the names right away or maybe you have to think for a little while, but they will come to you. For me, there may be many scholarly guides and “how to” books on the art of working with young people, but my most valuable instruction manual on mentoring has come from the lessons I have learned on my journey in the youth development field. This is the story of my important names and how their investment in me has shaped the way I engage and mentor youth in Out-of-School Time (OST) programs.