Somerville Student Writes about her Mentor and Tutor

Hi, my name is Kela, and I’m in 11th grade at Somerville High School. I’m originally from Port-au-Prince in Haiti.

For my 18th birthday in February, my mentor Afton and my tutor Caitlin celebrated with me and a friend by going out to eat together. We went to Redbones in Davis Square and had a lot of fun. Afton chose the place to eat because I didn’t know where to go, but I really liked the BBQ sandwich. It was the best birthday ever! When I go out with them, we have a lot of fun together.

I like my mentor and tutor because they are awesome and really help when I don’t know what to do. Afton has really helped me write my resume to help apply for jobs and college. When I was struggling with my science fair project and I didn’t know what to write about or where to start, Caitlin gave me a brilliant idea what to write about, and she helped me write the project. Enroot is really a great program because I’m able to have a tutor, and talk to someone about college.

Thank you.

Volunteer Profile: Tal Havivi

Tal Havivi works as Education Advisor at Amazon and is a second-year Cambridge Mentor

My volunteer experience has been eye-opening and meaningful. In addition to feeling like I’ve made a strong impact on someone’s life, I have grown a lot as an individual in how I interact with my mentee, other relationships in my life, and professionally as well.

I love spending time with my mentee, and I also enjoy having conversations with other mentors about their experiences and how to work through difficult situations. The Enroot staff is very supporting and creates a great experience for the mentees and mentors. This experience has been very meaningful to me. It is easy to get caught up in my personal/professional life and, in addition to making a big impact on my mentee, volunteering with Enroot has helped give me a better perspective on day-to-day life.
 

Volunteer Profile: Jonathan Ho

Jonathan works as a Quality Manager and is a first-year Somerville Mentor

My student and I found that we both share a love of fine dining. Specifically, ramen. We've had opportunities to push each other whether it's in learning new SAT words and colloquialisms, eating absurd amounts of ramen, or standing up and publicly sharing our dreams in a ramen shop. Though I need to learn how to plan better (visiting a college during their winter break and sneaking into their empty buildings is fun, but not very helpful), we've had fun with these odd adventures. Throughout these times together we've been able to share about our families, passions, and interests and where we hope to be in the future. 

Enroot gives me an opportunity to connect with others, whether they are students, volunteers, or staff, in an informal way without agenda. I enjoy tutoring, but mentoring allows me to just spend life with someone and get to know them, and I am so thankful for the opportunity. It's a blessing to have a chance to just connect.   

After high school and college, I started losing community made up of people in my neighborhood. I started hanging out with people just like me and true neighborhood community started becoming harder and harder to find. I mean, neighborhood block parties are fun, but when do you get to consistently and meaningfully connect with your neighbors? Enroot is helping me meet my neighbors, to see the people who live in my city, whether they are volunteers or staff or the Enroot students. Enroot not only gives students opportunities to connect and become part of the community, but it helps me do the same. And not only do the staff at Enroot give you the opportunity, they also give you the support to do it well and so I'm also learning how to better connect with and build into the lives of others.