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04/05/2009
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Staff photo by David Leamingfrom the Kennebec Journal
BUDGET CUTS ORDERED
Many happy returns in Richmond
Tax woes land on Whitefield
Rapist denied new trial
AUGUSTA MINDING A MINE
SPORT OF KINGS Falconry a blend of dedication and commitment
COLLEGE HOCKEY: Maine rallies but falls short against Boston College
COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Colby women win season opener at home tournament
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Kennebec Journal
from the Morning Sentinel
WEDDING BURGLAR JAILED
Youths talk Turkey Day
Plenty of free Thanksgiving meals available
Turkey prices make for happier holiday
Kennebec County Superior Court
POLICE
COLLEGE HOCKEY: Maine rallies but falls short against Boston College
COLLEGE ROUNDUP: Colby women win season opener at home tournament
All of today's:
News | Sports
from the Morning Sentinel
WATERVILLE -- Colby College senior Tory Starr is quick to confess that she entered the college's mentoring program reluctantly.
But then she had little choice. Her English professor Peter Harris required that students be involved in a community outreach initiative of some sort.
Starr chose Colby Cares About Kids, a mentoring program founded by Colby and the Communities for Children Coalition.
"I saw it as more of an obligation when I first got into it," she said.
Starr remains a mentor nearly four years later, and her obligation has turned into a special friendship.
"My intention was to do it for three semesters and then be done with it," she said, "but I found myself absolutely loving my mentee."
Many other Colby students have come to embrace the program over the years, a fact reflected by its tremendous growth since beginning eight years ago.
From 155 students working at two sites, Colby Cares About Kids now boasts 400 students at 18 mentoring locations.
Late last month, Gov. John Baldacci and First Lady Karen Baldacci announced the state has received a $500,000 federal grant aimed at creating a statewide mentoring program -- one using Colby Cares About Kids as its model.
That program is a collaborative effort involving the Children's Cabinet's Communities for Children & Youth, Maine Department of Corrections and Jobs for Maine's Graduates.
The immediate objective is to expand mentoring efforts at Bowdoin College, University of New England and University of Maine and start them at University of Maine campuses in Augusta, Portland and Lewiston.
Susan Savell, Communities for Children executive director, said the ultimate goal is to get every college in the state to participate in such a program, a development that would mean thousands of children would have the benefit of a mentoring relationship.
"It is a big undertaking," she said, "but then Colby Cares About Kids didn't happen overnight. It happened over many years. It is a big commitment on everybody's part."
The beginning
Albert S. Hall School and Alfond Youth Center were the two initial sites for Colby Cares About Kids in the spring of 2001.
Hall School Principal Harriet Trafford has enjoyed seeing the impact of the mentoring program on the fourth- and fifth-graders her school educates.
"In the short term there is a real sense of pride among our students," Trafford said of those paired with Colby mentors. "Our students feel so important when they see their mentors approaching them. It's a real boost to their self-esteem."
Trafford said the growth in confidence often leads to greater aspirations, especially in the educational sense.
Students begin to realize, she said, that they have the ability to go to college, too.
Moira Bentzel started as the Hall School coordinator for the program. Today she works at Colby as head of Colby Cares About Kids.
Bentzel said the initiative receives strong support from the Colby administration and is a key component of the college's Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement.
Yet perhaps even more important to the program's success, Bentzel said, is that students have a big say in how it is run.
And they stay involved, she said, because the relationships are so rewarding.
"I think in the long run the mentoring program is just a wonderful, win-win situation," she said. ""The mentees win, and the mentors win."
The winners
Crystal Szczepaniak is one of the young winners.
The 12-year-old, a home-schooled child who lives in Benton, began her relationship with Starr in the fall of 2005.
Starr said Crystal -- then a student at Benton Elementary School -- was painfully shy at first.
In that initial year Starr visited Crystal during her math period and so typically would help her with homework from that class.
With the tutoring, though, came conversations and through those conversations the trust and comfort level grew.
Starr and Crystal meet at the South End Learning Center these days and instead of homework, spend their time at the playground or playing board games.
The relationship has flourished.
"It is very different from what it was three-and-a-half years ago," Starr said. "She makes eye contact. Sometimes she gives me a hug. She smiles now. She opens up so much more now."
Crystal admits she was a bit nervous about the relationship that first year, but that anxiety is long gone.
"I was kind of excited to have another friend," Crystal said. "I really love Tory. She is like my best friend."
Starr and fellow mentor Christina Mok, a classmate and roommate, come to the South End Learning Center as a pair.
Mok, who hails from Connecticut, is mentor to Jenna Szczepaniak, Crystal's younger sister.
Unlike Starr, Mok knew about Colby Cares About Kids before she came to the college and wanted to join the program.
Mok said her relationship with Jenna has changed over their three and a half years together.
"I think at first it was more that I needed to help her and be there for her," she said, "but now it is more a friendship with a younger person."
Colin Hickey -- 861-9205
chickey@centralmaine.com
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