Former Principal and WISE Mentor, University Heights High School

WISE Program Consultant Deborah Harris

Sadly, I only had the opportunity to mentor students during one semester. And I was a fill-in at that. One of my staff members became ill and had to give up his mentoring duties. He was mentoring two students. They searched around for a substitute and were not having much luck. Apparently someone suggested that they ask me. I was Principal of the school at the time, and although I loved the program, and loved the students, I believed (silly me) that I didn’t have time to do mentoring, I was simply too busy. So, I was almost glad when I wasn’t asked. But once their original choice had to recuse himself, they came to me with their sad story. What could I say? Of course I accepted, and of course it turned out to be one of my most rewarding experiences.

My proudest moment was being with them as they presented. I felt pride, joy and gratitude…gratitude that they had come to me and afforded me this marvelous opportunity. Naturally, the most difficult part was finding the time to meet with them. Luckily, they were both patient and persistent and didn’t let me off the hook.

I learned about basketball, because that was their topic. Their original choice was the assistant basketball coach. I did not try to emulate what he might have done with them (I couldn’t), but I offered them support and affection. I learned so much from them. They actually knew quite a bit about the sport.

A good mentor is one who makes her/himself available for the requisite number of meetings. An extraordinary mentor is there for the students whenever needed…goes the extra mile to be there for them…goes above and beyond the call of duty…and is a skilled listener.

My advice is to love the students and be real with them. Share your time and yourself. Everything else will fall into place.