Mentor Spotlight!

John Aderholdt!

What are some of your roles and responsibilities as a mentor with CIS?

The main role or responsibility for mentors begins with simply spending time with your student in a way that is constructive and enjoyable and done on a consistent and reliable basis. I believe mentors should also reinforce the importance of their school work and encourage them to make that a priority.

Why did you want to mentor with CIS?

My wife was on the Board of CISGG in its early stages and developed a lot of respect for Jimmi Williams and what CISGG was doing. When the African American Male Initiative program was launched she put me together with Jimmi and away we went.

How do you think your mentee has benefitted?

I had two students under the AAMI program. The first boy had a challenging home situation as do many children in our community. This second young man had a very nice family. I mentored him for several years. Both of these boys experienced some things they would likely not been exposed to otherwise. The reenactment events for Battle of Guilford Courthouse and a trip to the Greensboro Science Center are notable examples. We also had some simple fun and games – wrestling at the Greensboro Coliseum and Grasshopper baseball games. A couple of times we took a vanload of kids down to Chapel Hill where they went to the Spring practice football game and toured the UNC campus. I also got to know many of their classmates and spent some time with their school friends along with just my assigned student.

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