10 years of Club M
Club M has served a total of 734 Burlington Community School District students in its 10 years of operation.
Most days when Emily Johnson picks up her son from Sunnyside, the third-grader — a self-described “quiet kid” — is scant on details, but not on Wednesdays.
That’s because on Wednesdays, Isaiah Rojas gets to hang out with his high school mentor, Sophie To, at Club M.
“When I pick him up from Club M, he tells me every single thing that they did throughout the whole thing, from the minute he got on the bus,” Johnson said. “He goes into dinner talking about it.”
Johnson first signed her son up for Club M when he was in first grade. She had noticed that Rojas had a difficult time maintaining relationships with people outside his family, and she thought that him being paired with a high school mentor might help. She was right.
“When I saw that Club M was an opportunity for him to maybe develop a relationship with someone else, I signed him up immediately,” Johnson said. “We were so lucky to be paired up with Sophie.”
Rojas began coming home from Club M eager to tell his mom about what he and To did that day, and after each Club M day, a new countdown would begin.
“Every Wednesday when I go to pick him up, he’s like, ‘OK, seven more days till we get to do it again,’ ” Johnson said. “To see the change in him to get so excited about something has been absolutely amazing for me, and to know that he has built that relationship with her over the last three years, it is very promising for me to know that he does have the ability to do that with people.”
To is among 34 mentors currently matched with elementary-aged mentees through the program. She’s been paired with Isaiah each of the past three years.
“I think I’m the luckiest (mentee) because I got the same mentor three years in a row,” Rojas said while playing a “Star Wars”-themed game of Eye Found It with To.
To takes seriously her commitment to the program and her mentee.
“If you’re given the title of a mentor, then you should be someone who’s going to be reliable,” To said. “You should be a good role model, and being present is an important part of that.”
To first got involved in Club M because she was looking for something to do after school. Having no younger siblings, she thought Club M would be a good new experience.
Since then, she and Isaiah have spent their Wednesday afternoons playing board games and with Legos. They don’t often deviate from Rojas’s favorites, and that’s just fine with To, who has enjoyed seeing Isaiah gradually become less reserved and appear more energized during their time together.
Club M Match Coordinator Natalie Hall said returning mentor/mentee pairs is not uncommon and that relationships strengthen year over year.
“It is amazing to see mentors and mentees come back and work with each other multiple years in a row,” Hall said. “I have a few matches who are in their third year together, and the first day when we come back, it is always so heartwarming to see them reconnect after a summer of not seeing each other and catching up on what they’ve done and everything. Really just the more that students work together, the closer bond they develop, and the more likely that it is to carry over to later in their life. We have had relationships where the mentor goes off to college and then they stay in touch with the younger student.”
Hall noted that research shows that having a stable older role model is an important factor in a child’s life and that such relationships help to instill in the mentees confidence that helps them plan their future.
Finding the right pairs is crucial to Club M’s success.
Mentees and mentors are matched based on interests and personalities. There are pairs who enjoy arts and crafts, pairs who like to play games, and pairs who like to play with Barbies. And then there’s Dallas Moore and Neil Stevenson.
Moore, a third-grader, said what he enjoys most about Club M is messing with his mentor. Stevenson, a junior at BHS, takes it all in stride.
“He’s no goodie-two-shoes, that’s for sure,” Stevenson said with a laugh as he closed in on a Connect Four win — a rare occurrence, according to Dallas.
A few tables away, sophomore Ell Riddle and second-grader Gage Benhart played a game of Battleship.
“I like my mentee. He’s cool,” Riddle said.
Riddle initially joined Club M because she needed Silver Cord hours.
“But now that I’m here, I’m very happy I did and it gives me something to look forward to every Wednesday,” Riddle said. “Like if I’m really like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t go to school today,’ then I’ll leave Gage alone so I have to go to school on Wednesdays and it gets me out of bed.”
Other mentors said they decided to join Club M because of their interest in a career in education.
“It helps me stay active and in touch with the youth and what they like to do. It also gives me good bonding time, so bonding experience for my future career as well,” said senior Ace Whalen, who plans to study elementary music education after high school.
Others joined Club M to have a fun break in their week and provide a chance to form connections while meeting new people. Whatever the reason, the impact on their mentees is huge.
“There are kids out there who don’t have anybody, and (high school students) could be that somebody for a kid and make the day just that much better for them,” Johnson said. “It’s not only rewarding for the kid, but it ends up being rewarding for the high school student as well to know that they made such an impact with something that only takes an hour a week.”
Those interested in becoming mentors can apply by visiting bcsds.org and filling out the Club M mentor application.
Once the application is received, mentors will complete an interview and an hour of training to review safety, procedures, policy, and how to be a good mentor. They then are free to start the program.
“We can always use more mentors and use more mentees,” Hall said. “The more mentors we have, the more mentees we can accept into the program.”
