By Fernando Gomez

Being a mentor is very beneficial for myself and the students who are around me who need my help (especially those who are scared to ask.) In this case, this story is something that you can see how the smallest thing can make a huge difference for someone else.

Some time ago, I was going through a new group of students for my second semester as a mentor. It was a good group of freshman and some were automatically involved in my plans to help them thrive in a college environment for the first time. Others… not so much.

Throughout the group, I noticed one student who caught my interest. He was a freshmen with a positive personality, but I sensed that he was troubled at the same time. He was hanging out with the wrong group of people, though it wasn’t too far from the point to where he could use my guidance and help.

One day I spoke to him to see how he was doing in his class as well as how he was enjoying his time in campus so far. We began talking and I found out some things that confirmed my suspicions. He was struggling in a class that I had to go through as well, though more times that I had liked. He had more struggles that I had imagined or better yet, that I didn’t think of.

I told him of my struggles and my hurdles that I had to deal with, and afterwards I started to explain to him that those struggles weren’t a mountain of a hurdle, they are something that he could confront. He had to focus on overcoming the hurdles if he wanted to get to fulfill his goals and aspirations.

But one thing that I was glad that he asked me right after our conversation was, “As my mentor, can you help me be better than what I am now?” I responded, “I had a feeling you were going to say that. I would be honored to.”

Since that day, he got better and thrived in his classes, so much that he passed with flying colors. After the semester, he became my protege and one of my first co-mentors, and I’m happy to say that he has changed so much since that semester. He’s done well, and he has a bigger future ahead of him. Not only as a mentor, but as a member of the Student Government Business Council. He is an example of how much you can better yourself to become who you want to be and how you want others to see you.
Fernando Gomez is the Senior Peer Mentor in the Opening Doors Learning Communities at Kingsborough Community College.