Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. – Aristotle
One theme of the programs and activities for our new Life Center that has consistently come up is the opportunity to connect the generations of our Parish Family together. We have so much experience and youth, understanding and curiosity, expertise and enthusiasm. These may seem to be contradictory statements, but the reality is we have members of our community that worked for decades in fields like chemistry, agriculture, carpentry, technology, engineering, and dozens of other critical areas. The youth and young adults of our Parish Family are desperately seeking these skills. A mentorship program is the ideal way to link the capability of those who have “done it” and those that want to “do it”. It also provides a positive and life-affirming opportunity for our Experienced members to make a positive impact on the life of another individual in such a direct way. Mentorship relationships can last a lifetime.
We are instituting the Sage Mentoring Exchange: Linking the Knowledge and Experience of our Parish Family to Grow the Future of Our Community. Thanks to Bill Warvel, our Catholic Adult Organization Coordinator, for coming up with a great name and structure for our mentorship program. We wanted to announce this opportunity for our Experienced members to mentor our youth and young adults in several key areas:
- Educational Support / Tutoring Subjects:
- Math
- Sciences (Chemistry, Physics, Biology)
- English (English as a Second Language, Literature, Grammar)
- Spanish
- Career Support and Specialties
- Career Education and Support
- Engineering
- Finance
- Management
- Technology
- Medical and Health Care
- Legal
- Marketing
There will be opportunities to speak at Parish Seminars on your experience as well as panel discussions that will help draw people of all ages to you and your expertise. If you are interested in mentoring our youth and young adults in any of these fields (or if you have a specialty that you believe would impact our Parish Family in a positive way), please contact me and we will make sure you become part of the Sage Mentoring Exchange. Aside from our required Background Check and Safe Environment Training, the Sages will undergo our Notre Dame – developed “Play Like a Champion” Training program, which will assist with developing our Sages with tools for communicating effectively and positively to youth and young adults. I know there is so much talent here at Saint John, and by sharing your knowledge, you will assure the future of our Parish Family.