The Carolina Forest Mentoring Program allows high school students to create special bonds with various elementary school students in our district. The schools involved in the program include Waccamaw, Palmetto Bay, and Carolina Forest. This program helps implement and enhance elementary students’ leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
The advisors for the mentoring program are Brandyn Raber, Matthew Sassi, Emmanuel DeWalt, and Sierra Gordyk. The mentees and mentors of this program cannot only just share personal experiences but also help each other achieve goals and navigate life as a whole.
Sophomore Adriana Guarino stated, “The CF Mentor Program, to me, means being able to change a child’s life. A mentee may have trouble at home or in school, but seeing them once a month can brighten their days! Students should be involved in a program like this because you can help others and learn new things about yourself through this process.”
When joining this program, high school students are matched with a student at one of the three elementary schools and are scheduled to visit them during school hours once a month. Each year they are matched with the same student to allow them to create a safe and trustworthy relationship between both parties. The instructors from both schools determine your match based on your grade, interests, and personal life. Students are matched corresponding to the grade that they are currently in. For example, a sophomore would be matched with a third-grade student so they would be set to graduate high school and elementary school simultaneously.
Brandyn Raber, one of the advisors for the school’s program, shared, “ There are multiple goals of the Mentor Program. One is developing relationships between mentees and mentors, two, building awareness of both mentor and mentee potential for being happy, healthy, and productive students and finally, learning how to succeed on your own by making decisions and following through on those decisions.”
Waccamaw Elementary School program advisor Abigail Khoury added, “The program provides our students with positive role models who help them become more confident socially and academically!”
This program has changed the lives of many mentors as well as mentees. Many great relationships have been formed throughout the program and are ones that will last a lifetime. Panthers, if you would like to participate in the program next year, make sure to stay alert for applications this spring!
