Steven Spielberg once said, “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”

This year, Tallwood High has introduced a new mentoring program called L.E.O. or Lions Educating Others. On November 18th, we had our first meetings with our assigned mentors in which we set goals for our futures. We made 5, 10, and 15 year goals for ourselves.

Lions’ goals were all across the board. They ranged from achieving a 3.5 GPA, studying abroad, to even joining the Marines after high school. Goal setting is one of the first steps in mentoring.

Although there are some mixed feelings about the new L.E.O. program, I believe that this will be a very positive thing for Tallwood High. It has been shown in studies that mentoring improves character, grades, social skills, and self esteem.

According to The National Mentoring Partnership, students with mentors are:

“55% more likely to enroll in college.

78% more likely to volunteer regularly.

130% more likely to hold leadership positions.”

(source)

With my mentor, we discussed the importance of knowing the why to your goal, why you want to accomplish your set goal.  In my opinion, setting and talking about my goals with my peers made these goals seem more achievable.

When it comes to becoming what we want to be, I have belief that it is important for us to be open to new ideas like the L.E.O. program. There are so many opportunities out there, and a mentor is just what we need to help us open doors for ourselves.

If Tallwood welcomes the L.E.O. program with open arms, we will see an increase in positivity and will make our Lion’s Pride stronger for all present and future students, faculty, and staff.