This year Lowellville’s Wellness Club led by Ms. Carlos introduced a new way to keep students engaged with helping others. They started mentoring, which consists of Wellness Club members in high school and the 5th and 6th grade students. The club members meet with their students in their classrooms during homeroom to help the students with communication skills, tutoring, and being a friend for them to talk to.
Mrs. Carlos implements RISE qualities within the Wellness Club and believes it is important to include the elementary students. . Her goal of this program is to educate the “whole child.” She provides several activities during the school year to support the students physical, mental, and social wellbeing.
Ms. Carlos shares a success story with the help of the mentoring program. Many students have been able to gain interest for sports and improve their overall wellbeing. Due to the confidence they have gained, they’ve worked up the courage to join a sports team.
The main aspect of mentoring is to help improve their cognitive skills and be able to apply them in subjects that are part of state testing, such as math and ELA while also providing positive support for their mental, emotional, and social development.
Selecting a mentor for a student takes a lot of thought. Ms. Carlos collaborates with the 5th and 6th grade teachers to find a positive pair and considers who will be compatible with each other.
She discusses the biggest obstacle to overcome. “The collective time that the mentors have been able to spend with their mentees because of other programs that take place during the same time during homeroom. Another challenge has been absences of our mentors during this cold and flu season. We are doing the best we can with the time we have been given. We believe that the time, even small amounts of time, will help our younger students show growth and improvement.”
Hadassah Rivera is a senior in the Wellness Club. She wanted to start wellness mentoring because helping students is something that she enjoys doing. “I love being able to pour into the younger generation.”
Hadassah describes the typical mentoring session as helping students with any homework they may have,and checking on them mentally. She shares how mentoring has changed the way she sees leadership. “Mentoring has definitely helped me with the way I lead. It holds me accountable so that I can not only be a better version of myself for me, but also for my students. I want to show her how to lead and how to be responsible.”
Hadassah strongly agrees how the mentoring does align with the RISE goals. “We are choosing to be respectful and lead our students, we are choosing to include ourselves into these students’ lives to help them and grow them, and through our mentorship we are making sure they stay safe mentally and in their studies.” She thinks it would be a great idea to be able to continue wellness mentoring into the future because it is a great way to help students mentally and/or physically.
Aryana Salata is a senior in the Wellness Club. She wanted to be a wellness mentor to help make a positive impact in the elementary students lives and give them someone to be able to talk to as a friend. Aryana tries to keep her students engaged by asking them about their week, or if they need any help on homework. Aryana says, “Mentoring has made me want to become more responsible and become a better leader to impact the younger students in a more positive way.”
Rise does play a role in the mentoring program, this being respectful, inclusive, safe and engaging. This gives students the opportunity to be able to grow. Aryana says, “Mentoring gives students a safe place to go and ask for help, and gives the mentors the challenge of helping others and being that safe and engaged person they can go to.” She also believes that the mentoring should continue. “This is a great program created by Ms. Carlos. “I believe this program will have a great impact on elementary students and I hope for high school students to be able to continue to do this in the future.”
Alana Lopez is a senior in the Wellness Club. She says, “I needed help in elementary when it came to learning sometimes and so knowing how it felt, I wanted to help as well. To help others as others helped me.” She describes the mentor sessions as being able to bond and get to know each other. Mentoring has changed Alana’s perspective on leadership; she believes that it is important to set a good example for the younger generations to come.
The Wellness Club’s mentoring program has made a meaningful impact on both the mentors and the younger students. By providing leadership, responsibility, and inclusivity, the program aligns with the RISE goals and helps students grow academically, socially, and emotionally. Ms. Carlos and the mentors remain committed to making the most of their time with the younger students. After all, this mentoring program has been a positive addition here at Lowellville and we hope to see the program grow.
