Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts is a program that pairs students with adult mentors who offer them guidance. Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement director Yusufi Vali (red tie) walks with a student from the Mario Umana Academy. (Image courtesy of BBBSEM.)
Middle school students and City Hall employees gathered around a table, sharing their hopes for the future, as inspired by a worksheet on Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. One student said that he wished to one day be a soccer player. Another aspired to become a chemical engineer and go to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They had worked collaboratively with their mentors, adults with jobs at City Hall, to come up with their responses.
This activity was just one way that students spent time with their mentors on a Wednesday afternoon. Youth in the sixth and seventh grades came from the Mario Umana Academy to pass an hour visiting with the City Hall adults in their workplace, as part of a program called the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts and Boston City Hall Workplace Mentoring Program. The program was launched as part of a larger mentoring movement created in 2014 by Mayor Marty Walsh in collaboration with the Mass Mentoring Partnership, giving children in Boston access to mentors. The initiative of BBBSEM that pairs students with City Hall employees is a new one, having begun this past January, and it will be running until the end of the school year, in June.
“Each child is in a one-to-one relationship with a caring, adult mentor. The goal of those relationships is to ignite the potential that exists in these kids already, to champion them, and to help them build social and emotional competencies that allow them to succeed in school, work and life,” said Wendy Foster, president and CEO of BBBSEM.
Students will work on different projects to build their relationships with their mentors, such as writing rap songs together or sharing stories from their lives, Foster said. At the same time, they will be learning about the work that their mentors do at City Hall, which will possibly inspire them to pursue careers in government one day.
Staff members interview students and adults to understand their personalities and goals, before they are paired together as matches. Foster said she had wanted to work with a school from East Boston, as a response to the need of the community.
Sixth grade student Kristalyz Feliciano said that working with her mentor, Courtney Ho, has been a supportive and positive experience for her. Together, they have talked about jobs, family dynamics and the games they play at home. The program is fun, she said, and has “a good energy to it.”
“They’re really welcoming and accepting here,” Feliciano said. “It’s nice to have somebody you can talk to and trust.”
Nancy Kwan, who works as a speechwriter for the mayor, said working with the student she mentors has reminded her of what it is like to be 12 again. Having a mentor who you can confide in can be a meaningful and valuable opportunity, she said.
“It’s having someone in your corner and being your cheerleader, if you’re lost and don’t know what to do next,” Kwan said. “Having someone there is huge.”
