Our Town Temple

The Temple ISD’s Wildcat Mentors program celebrated a big year Wednesday with its annual End of Year Celebration at the Ralph Wilson Youth Club.   

The Wildcat Mentors program, now in its 13th year, pairs district fifth- and sixth-graders with adult volunteers from the community and school district for community, support and positive role models

The program was able to return to a face-to-face format for the 2021-2022 school year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced a pivot to a virtual or pen-pal routine the previous year.

Mentors are asked to spend at least two hours a month with their students and the program’s mission is to develop one-on-one relationships and support efforts to empower students to make positive choices that enable them to maximize their personal potential.  

“Wildcat Mentors has been very successful for TISD students this year since they have been able to meet with their mentors again face-to-face,” said Yara Thomas, student support specialist for TISD. “Mentors have been able to support their mentees in so many different ways, like setting goals and supporting them academically.”

“We are very thankful for our mentors and all that they do in giving their time to these students and this program,” Thomas said. “We are always looking for more people willing to volunteer and be a part of this great experience.”

The End of Year Celebration gave the mentors and mentees one more chance to spend time together with the school year rapidly coming to a close. The event featured lunch, indoor and outdoor games, a mobile video game truck, a bounce house and a snow cone truck.

The celebration also highlighted the collaboration between the community and the district, and focused on the positive impacts that come from that collaboration.

The benefit to both mentors and mentees was highlighted by both Travis Sawin, in his seventh year as a Wildcat Mentor, and his mentee, Jesse Green, during a break in their basketball game at Wednesday’s event.

“Every year I enjoy getting to know the kids and spend time with them and learn what is important to them and that is definitely the case with Jesse,” Sawin said. “I hope that I am making an impact on his life, but it is probably the other way around and I might get more out of this by getting to know the students each year.”

“I love making friends and Travis has been great,” said Green, a sixth grader at Bonham Middle School. “I always enjoy seeing him come to lunch. It means a lot if I can try to also make his life a little bit better because I want to make a difference, too.”

The Wildcat Mentors program is already looking for volunteers to serve as mentors for the 2022-2023 school year. For more information or to volunteer to serve as a Wildcat Mentor, visit the program’s WEBSITE.

People interested in becoming mentors can also contact Thomas at yara.thomas@tisd.org.

WEDNESDAY | APRIL 27, 2022

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