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Why I Mentor

Oklahomans in every corner of the state are volunteering time each week to make a difference in a child's life. The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence has asked some of these mentors to share their experiences.

Michelle Middleton, director of Side-by-Side Mentoring Program for El Reno Public Schools, is the supervisor for El Reno Public Schools’ Oklahoma Parents as Teachers (OPAT) program and serves on the executive committee for Canadian County Caring for Kids.

Why is mentoring important to you?
Mentoring is important to me because it benefits everyone involved. The mentors get as much out of it as the mentees. It is something so simple that can have a tremendous impact on someone’s life.

How or why did you become involved?
I first became involved in mentoring when I taught in an alternative program for Mid-Del schools. I thought mentoring was such a benefit to students that I started a mentoring program for my class. El Reno Public Schools received a grant from the U.S. Department of Safe and Drug Free Schools to start a mentoring program for their students in 4th through 8th grades. I am the director of this program as well as a mentor.

How have you personally benefited from mentoring?
I learn so much from working with students. Some of them just absolutely amaze me. Mentoring is one of the few things in life that you can do that you actually makes a difference in someone’s life. It makes you feel good about what you are doing.

Give an example of an activity you have shared with your mentee.
We do so many things together both as a match and with the students in the mentoring program as a group. A lot of time we just spend hanging out and talking about what’s going on in her life. One of our favorite things to do is to have lunch at the local Chinese restaurant.