Spring Branch ISD Featured News

Not only does having a mentor provide students a unique opportunity to develop relationship skills and gain a broader perspective on what the future can hold, but this unique kind of friendship benefits the mentors in Spring Branch ISD’s SpringBoard Mentoring Program, too.

“Being with young people now that my own children are grown helps me connect with other communities better and understand some of the struggles they go through,” mentor Maria Camacho said. She mentors two students on different days of the week at Spring Woods Middle School, and also makes time to meet with another student at Northbrook High School. In the past nine years, she has been a mentor to 10 students.

“I wanted to share my own experiences of overcoming hardships with current students so they realize they can make it, too,” Camacho said.

“If it wasn’t for education, I wouldn’t be here,” Camacho said when recalling the challenges of growing up in Gary, Indiana, and attending college at Purdue University. She likes to help the students she mentors realize that college is an option or learning some sort of trade that helps them become successful.

Christopher Avalos chose to become a mentor to share his life experiences with the younger generation and guide them to make good choices to achieve their goals. He encourages anyone who is interested in personal development and making an impact in a young person’s life to get involved with the SpringBoard Mentoring Program. 

To help students he mentors become Resourceful Problem-solvers (one of Spring Branch ISD’s Core Characteristics of a T-2-4 Ready Graduate) Avalos advises just listening to what their goals are in life, and then guiding them to find the resources needed to achieve them.

“One of my proudest moments was helping [my student] realize his strengths and then go on to leverage them to become successful,” Avalos said.

“It’s very fulfilling to be a mentor,” he added. “It is surprising to see how receptive students are to the knowledge you have to share with them, especially helping them with goals.” 

Another mentor, Aashish Sharma from National Oilwell Varco (NOV), said that coming to see the student he mentors at Westchester Academy is a nice break from his work tasks each week. “I look forward to visiting with Brian,” Sharma said. “It helps me prepare for what to expect with my own young children as they get older.”

Students who participate in the mentoring program benefit in multiple ways. Mentors help to reinforce the development of Core Characteristics in the students in whom they invest their time.

Tenth grader, Brian, appreciates having a mentor to talk with, and credits his three-year partnership with Sharma for helping him become less shy, more confident and willing to be Persistent and Adaptable, which are also Core Characteristics. “I never used to like to be around water because I didn’t know how to swim,” Brian said. “With his encouragement, I started swimming and now I really like being in the pool.”

NOV has sponsored annual outings to Barnes & Noble for mentors and their students, which Brian says was a fun thing he has gotten to do with his mentor. 

Another student, Amena, said, “Having a mentor helps me communicate better and with my mental well-being.” The relationship with her mentor is reinforcing the Core Characteristic of becoming a Communicator and Collaborator.

Setting short-term and long-term goals is a skill that Alicia Balbuena is teaching the student she mentors. A 2021 graduate of Spring Woods High School, Balbuena credits her own SpringBoard mentor for helping her learn the benefits of developing manageable stepping stones to reach her dreams. 

Balbuena hopes the young lady she visits each week will eventually come back to be a mentor after her high school graduation, keeping the cycle of being Ethical & Service-minded (another Core Characteristic) going from one generation to the next.

During January, National Mentoring Month, we offer enormous thanks and appreciation to the dozens of mentors across Spring Branch ISD who build bridges with students to make their futures even brighter.

We need your help and just a little bit of time each week:

Each mentor in the SpringBoard Mentoring Program is assigned a student to meet with once a week during a lunch period, which varies from 30 to 45 minutes depending on the school and the student’s schedule. The SpringBoard program matches mentors (who have attended a training session and completed a background check) with students from third to 12th grades.

No tutoring is involved; just sharing your time and a desire to share your experiences and encouragement to help build a student’s confidence and Core Characteristics is all that is needed.

If you would like to get involved as a mentor in Spring Branch ISD, contact mentor@springbranchisd.com for more information and our training schedule.