Irving Amaral                   Stephanie Kennedy

Jacqueline Baker             Brandon Lewis

Alexis Barry                     Joy Moutsis

Sarah Bollert                    Garrett Pagel

Scott Caldwell                  Corey Pullen

Donna Cherniske              Stacy Thomas

Patrick Daly                      Serafim Tomas

Sean Geary                       Jacqueline Vollmer-Viera

Michael Gizzi                    Van Vu

Alicia Goncalves                Tom Wieckowski

Holly Hatfield                    Aimee Willenbrock   

Maria Altieri:  I work at Cartus as a Real Estate Specialist.  I have been mentoring for two years. I initially wanted to mentor to provide a young girl friendship.  I have found that the relationship is rewarding for me.  I am watching a young child evolving.  Serena is a precious child who needs someone consistent in her life and willing to be her friend.  I often wondered if I was effective in my mentoring.  The first year I received a thank you card after a couple months of visiting her that she made thanking me for being her best friend.  How precious is that.  This year she writes me a Valentine's card hoping that I enjoy visiting her at her school as much as she enjoys having me.  I may not always get immediate feedback until I get cards like the ones she made for me.  Serena is a very bright 9 year old but there is something sad in her eyes.  She brightens up when she sees me.  And that makes it all worthwhile. 

My name is Laki Triantafylidis and I work at Pitney Bowes in Danbury and am currently the RFP manager for our business unit in North America. I mentor at Ellsworth Elementary and will have been mentoring for 2 years at the end of this school year. When I first volunteered to be a mentor, I thought it would be a great way to help out in the community. The kids involved in the program are all wonderful and looking for someone they can count on. After meeting my mentee and working with him for the past 2 years, it's been immensely rewarding to see his progress and have him open up to me. The key is to build trust. Be sure to set proper expectations; if you can come every week - great, if not - no problem, just be sure that your mentee understands when they should expect to see you. The worst thing you can do is say you'll be there and not show up. Also don't be discouraged if it takes a while to earn their trust. Many of the mentees have been let down before, so it may take a few months or a year to earn their trust. It's worth it in the end, so just keep at it. 

Jay A. Holt:  I work for the Supply Chain at United Technologies. I also work for the Stats & Analysis Department at ESPN. This is my second year as a mentor. I initially became a mentor because I see a younger generation becoming well versed in all the wrong things. I'm working with a student at Rogers Park right now and at 27 years old, I'm young enough that I've had some of the very same teachers that my mentee has now. I can relate to the things he's going through because I wasn't in his shoes that long ago. That gives me the credibility I need to get him on track. He trusts my insight and seeks my advice on a weekly basis. I grew up in Danbury and want to give something back to the city that made me. We take for granted the racial amalgamation and wealth of opportunities here that automatically make you more well-rounded by the time you leave town for college. The kids here are already starting with an advantage and I just want to be a small nudge to keep things going in the right direction. I knew how powerful mentoring could be which is why I've taken it so seriously, but it's scary that once you've earned their trust and friendship they'll hang on your every word. In that sense, mentoring has made me a better man for forcing me to look in the mirror every day and choose to be the best version of myself  I can so I can present the right things to my mentee. My best advice to mentors old and new is to make sure with every piece of advice that you've stepped in your mentees shoes first. We mentors have already been 13 years old (for example), but we need to understand that our mentees have never been 13. We speak with the ease that's come with life experience. We can see our past but we need to keep in mind that our mentees can't see their future. They don't know that "things will be okay" or that "there's more fish in the sea," and "trust me on this" isn't enough sometimes. Think like a 13-year-old and you can better guide a 13-year-old!