From Mentee to Mentor: Building Positive Relationships
Manuel “Manny” Gomez Portillo, an educational specialist in Equity and Cultural Responsiveness, immigrated to Northern Virginia as a 10 year old from El Salvador. He was reunited with his parents who he hadn’t seen in nine years. Manny remembers being scared and unfamiliar with both the language and the culture. “The sudden changes truly impacted my mental health,” he said. “I was beginning to hide my heritage and language. I actually started to feel ashamed about it.”
His Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) counselor saw how the change was impacting his grades and placed him with a mentor.
“I remember that it was a truly powerful experience for me,” he said. “My mentor provided me with a safe space to talk and relax that was outside of the classroom. My mentor took the time to learn about my culture and language and shared a lot about American culture. This made me feel a lot better and I felt happier to go to school.”
Because of his experience with mentors, Manny decided he wanted to become an educator.
“My ‘why’ as an educator is to provide a space where students thrive, feel safe, build positive relationships, and are provided with the necessary tools to be successful,” he said. “In addition, it is important for students to celebrate their backgrounds and to leverage it as a tool of empowerment towards their education and daily lives.”
When he heard about the opportunity to volunteer as a mentor, he signed right up. “I know from personal experiences that mentors make a huge difference in the educational experience of a student.” His mentor had made such a positive impact on his educational experience.
When Manny first met his mentee, he made sure to provide the same safe, relaxed space his mentor provided to him. “From our first meeting, I was authentic. I recall at our first meeting how the mentee shared a very powerful immigrant story and we quickly made connections,” Manny said. “As I shared my own immigrant story, my mentee realized that they were very similar. He looked at me and smiled. From that moment on, I knew it would be a meaningful space for my mentee.”
Manny has been meeting regularly with his mentee since he was in the fifth grade (he’s now in ninth grade). They spend about a half hour together, often eating lunch, talking about sports, playing games, and sharing their cultures.
“The most rewarding experience for me has been seeing my mentee grow and mature over the years,” Manny said. “When we first started meeting, he struggled a lot with English and now we have full conversations. He amazes me everyday and keeps me connected to my ‘why.’ My mentee reminds me of my core reason for going into education!”
Manny collaborated with his supervisor and the school’s mentoring coordinators to make a plan to allow for him to mentor during the day for 30 minutes each week. Working together, they found a schedule that wouldn’t interfere with Manny’s work or the student’s academics.
“Mentoring is truly a powerful and transformative experience,” Manny said. “It is a simple process, but it can have a personal impact on the lives of the mentee and mentor. It has been extremely rewarding to see my mentee talk about, work on, and achieve the many goals in his life!”
Citing research that shows that students who have adults they can talk to are more likely to make positive life choices, Manny reflected that “being a part of one of these relationships is an incredibly rewarding feeling!”
