Gallery • 3 Photos

Elle Chen

Senior Meagan Massie smiles fondly at her mentees while sharing stories together.

With ice cream sandwiches and popsicles, the meeting commenced. Oct. 2 marked the first mentor-mentee meeting of the 2019-2020 school year. During X-Period, 9th graders along with their junior and senior mentors met for the first time in the lunchroom under the new program with a reduced number of mentors. After a quick icebreaker, the 9th graders quickly grew comfortable with their mentors and bonded over their similarities. Filled with questions, curiosity, and confusion, the 9th graders looked up to their upperclassman and fired away with their questions and opinions. 

9th grader Riley Erben shared her experience with mentor Meagan Massie. Erben said, “I thought it was really fun to talk to a senior because it turned out we had a lot in common. We talked a lot about electives and about how school was going so far and I learned about classes that I didn’t even know existed which was really cool”.

9th grader Fin Sullivan also shared his experience with mentor Michael Bagnoli. Sullivan said, “I liked it, he [Bagnoli] taught us a lot about how to do our work proficiently and he gave us lots of information on how to get through high school”.

Besides the mentees, the mentors also came out of the meeting feeling satisfied. Junior Ivan Starchook said, “I had a lot of fun with it. I was really excited to talk to my mentees and answer any of their questions as well as ask them questions. I felt really comfortable talking to them and they seemed to feel comfortable with me so it was great.”

Being a mentor, not only means connecting and sharing school experiences, but also out of school and social aspects of something they all have in common: being a teen.