She was Savannah’s dance teacher.
She was Eric’s college professor.
They were Victor’s teacher and pastors.
All are mentors. Both formal and informal mentors are people who make a difference in the lives of others engaging the power of relationship. But unlike those defined by the initial connection human beings share with one another, mentorships form when the relationship builds the capacity of those involved to experience more – for a lifetime.
Long after dance lessons were done, Mrs. Margarette Bell Miller’s influence as a mentor continues. “She’s part of my family,” says Ray. - photo by Johnnette Davenport Nesbitt
Mrs. Margarette Bell Miller, taught dance to Savannah Ray, SAM’s Director of Educational Partnership for 15 years.
“While our time in the studio focused on dance moves, she also taught me about punctuality, being a person of grace, integrity, and character. She showed up during the exciting moments in my life and scolded me when I forgot to share those accomplishments. She was also there to embrace me during the tough, challenging seasons of my youth.”
It was what Mrs. Miller taught beyond the dance moves that have had the lasting impact on Ray’s life.
For SAM’s Continuous Improvement trainer, Dr. Eric Hayler, college professor Martha Greenblatt, his doctoral advisor gave him life lessons beyond his thesis project.
You can be successful beyond your circumstances.
Be persistent – there’s always a way.
Set high expectations.
Those lessons weren’t embedded in any curriculum. While the advising relationship was, and had a structured beginning and end related to Hayler’s thesis, the impact was far greater than the Ph.D now listed beside his name.
Jermaine Greene, now assistant principal at Broome High School; Hoyt Bynum, Pastor at Born Anew Church and Ron Henderson; pastor at Mount Nebo Baptist Church became Victor Durrah’s mentors.
“It wasn’t the formal conversations that made the difference. It was the informal interactions and genuine thought leadership that made the lasting difference,” Durrah says of his mentors. “All of these mentors are still involved in my life today.”
While many mentors are informal, more formal, structured programs, focused on evidence-based practices designed to lead to specific participant outcomes have grown. They focus on specific outcomes and include expectations for how participants, mentors and mentees alike, maximize the potential of their relationship.
“Youth mentoring - a consistent, prosocial relationship between an adult or older peer and one or more youth - can help support the positive development of youth. Mentoring has been shown to improve self-esteem, academic achievement, and peer relationships and reduce drug use, aggression, depressive symptoms, and delinquent acts. Many young people have access to mentors (both naturally occurring and program supported); however, many more do not.”
The National Mentoring Resource Center, founded in 2015, helps mentoring programs and practitioners use evidence-based practices for developing formal mentoring programs. These focus on quality recruitment and screening for mentors and mentees; training for mentors; matching, initiating, monitoring, and supporting the mentor-mentee relationship; and closure of the formal or program-driven relationship.
The value of mentoring he received inspired Durrah to start the BRUH (Brothers Restoring Urban Hope) mentorship program in Spartanburg. BRUH uses group mentorship, leadership training, and spiritual guidance to provide a structure for youth in “urban communities to discover who they are, develop their strengths, and overcome their challenges.”
While mentorship programs exist in many forms across Spartanburg County, Durrah hopes to build awareness for future mentors and mentees with a free event being livestreamed tonight on FB.
Bernard Wheeler, Vice President in Commercial Lending at Reliance Bank will serve as moderator with panelists and special guests including: Adom Appiah, youth leader and founder of Ball4Good; Samuel Bellamy, trainer for SC Mentors; Justice Cox, educator and mentor; Devin Stewart, City of Spartanburg Youth and Family Coordinator; Lyman Dawkins, III, educator and Cherokee County Councilman; and Dione Y. Williams, educator and Delta Sigma Theta Spartanburg Alumnae Chapter President.
The livestream event begins at 7PM tonight. Login: https://www.facebook.com/MacedoniaMissionaryBaptistChurchSpartanburg
To learn more about BRUH Mentors, visit: www.bruhmentorship.org
To learn more about others Out-of-School-Time program providers for youth, visit: https://www.learnwithsam.org/ost
To learn more about program standards for quality mentoring programs, visit the National Mentoring Resource Center: https://nationalmentoringresourcecenter.org/ or Mentor https://www.mentoring.org/
