Catholic Schools Week Supplement

Mentor program adds joy to the present and hope for the future

The smiles show the bond that has formed between Logan Cucuz, a freshman at Marian University in Indianapolis, and Sebastian, a sixth-grade student at Holy Angels School in Indianapolis, through the College Mentors for Kids program. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)

By John Shaughnessy

The dreams of Logan and Sebastian have created a bond between them, right down to the smiles and laughs they share in making a batch of greenish-blue slime together.

At 18, Logan Cucuz is a freshman at Marian University in Indianapolis who dreams of becoming a nurse on a pediatric unit, caring for children and helping them return to good health.

At 11, Sebastian is a sixth-grade student at Holy Angels School in Indianapolis who hopes to become the first person in his family to go to college in the future.

Their lives have become intertwined this school year through College Mentors for Kids, an Indianapolis-based national program that strives to transform the lives of children and college students “through weekly on-campus activities that inspire growth, confidence and brighter futures.”

Every Thursday, about 25 third- to sixth-grade students at Holy Angels board a bus to go to Marian University for after-school activities that connect them in one-on-one relationships with Marian students.

Their time together includes a snack and a fun bonding project, but the program is always focused on giving the grade-school students a connection with a college campus and a look at careers and an education that could change their lives someday. There is also the emphasis on creating a bond between the child and the college student—like the one between Sebastian and Logan.

“He’s really fun to get along with,” says Sebastian, whose last name isn’t mentioned here because that’s the policy of the College Mentors for Kids program regarding the grade school students. “And all the activities are fun, too.”

Sebastian shares that he’s one of four children who live with their mom. He also mentions that at this point in his life he wants to be a video game programmer or a graphic designer.

Logan is already focused on his future path.

“I’m a nursing major,” he says. “I’d like to go into pediatrics. I like to work with kids, coming down to their level and collaborating with them. I thought this program would be perfect, and it is.

“You learn how to deal with the million different things that are going on for a kid. And Sebastian likes the same things as me. Being a role model is a really good experience.”

After the snack to begin their time together on this day, Sebastian and Logan listen as a Marian team leader reads from a children’s book that stresses the importance of working hard to achieve a goal. Then there’s the science activity of making slime together, followed later by a focus on possible careers.

During other weeks, the Holy Angels students have also listened to presentations from Marian students of different backgrounds who talked about their experiences and their cultures.

The College Mentors for Kids program makes a major difference in the lives of the children at Holy Angels School, says principal Justin Armitage.

“Our scholars get an opportunity to be paired with a college student, do fun activities and go to a college campus once a week,” Armitage says. “The opportunity for our scholars to spend time on a college campus is priceless. Many of our scholars only know their neighborhood. They do not have an opportunity to travel to different places and see different things.

“Being on a college campus with college students that come from all over the state and country provides them with inspiration and motivation to want to do well in school, go onto a good high school and then college or technical school.

“We have many programs here at Holy Angels for our scholars to participate in, but the excitement the scholars that are involved in College Mentors have when Thursday rolls around is unmatched.”

At the same time, the program has created “a love of Holy Angels” for many of the Marian students involved in it, Armitage says.

“Some come back to volunteer in our after-care program, some come back to assist in classrooms, some decide to be tutors during the school week,” the principal says.

“College Mentors has been an integral piece to the transformation of Holy Angels over the past four years. It is beneficial to the Marian students, to our school, to our community and most importantly to the lives of our scholars.”

The program also gives the grade-school student and the college student the opportunity to smile and laugh together, to bond, says Anna Johannigman, the vice president of the Marian chapter of College Mentors for Kids and a member of St. Mary Parish in Greensburg.

“It’s really great to see how that relationship forms between the two,” Johannigman says. “I think the mentors gain a sense of being able to have that connection with a child. Everyone has a mentor in their life. To have the ability to encourage someone is special.” †

 

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