OFE News Release
Sequoyah Elementary Volunteer Herman Lancaster to be Honored During National Mentoring Month
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| Sequoyah Elementary School Mentoring Program volunteer Herman Lancaster (right), shown here with former mentee Christopher, will be honored by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence on “Thank Your Mentor Day” Jan. 21 at the State Capitol. |
January 3, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY – Herman Lancaster, a retired accountant and longtime volunteer for Tulsa’s Sequoyah Elementary School Mentoring Program, will be honored as an outstanding mentor on “Thank Your Mentor Day,” Thursday, Jan. 21, at the State Capitol.
Lancaster will be honored as one of two runners up for the David and Molly Boren Mentoring Award presented by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and its David and Molly Boren Mentoring Initiative. The awards ceremony, which recognizes outstanding mentors from across the state, is being held in conjunction with National Mentoring Month in January.
Lancaster, 76, a retired accountant from Amoco, began volunteering along with his wife four years ago when their church, the Crosstown Church of Christ, became a Partner in Education with nearby Sequoyah Elementary School. Since beginning the program, he has been matched with two boys, Christopher, who is now in middle school, and Israel, who is a fourth-grader. When Lancaster’s wife, Chris, passed away unexpectedly last January, he even offered to mentor her student until another female mentor could be found.
Through the mentoring program, Lancaster spends at least an hour each week meeting with his mentee. They play board games, talk about school work and just spend time chatting. He’s enjoyed watching Israel open up and become more comfortable talking and playing together.
Although Lancaster is no longer matched with Christopher in a school setting, they have continued their friendship. Recently, Christopher even invited Lancaster to attend his birthday party.
Jerry Buchanan, parent involvement coordinator with the Sequoyah Mentoring Program, said that Lancaster has had a positive impact on Christopher. “Over the years that Herman worked with him, Christopher became not only a better student, but also a more confident young man. He began to realize how his behavior affected his ability to fit in with others, and the two of them have worked diligently to improve Christopher’s overall demeanor.”
Lancaster said he enjoys being a mentor because it gives him an opportunity to “try to influence kids’ lives for good and try to keep them from taking the wrong path.” He likes to encourage his mentees to work hard in school and to continue their education past high school.
He added that there is a lot of poverty in the community, and he hopes he can encourage his mentees to “move on and become productive citizens.”
Lancaster, who also volunteers for the Tulsa/Creek Counties’ Seniors in Schools Program, encourages other retirees to get involved in mentoring.
“I felt a little nervous when I first started mentoring, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it,” he said. “It doesn’t require any particular talents, just trying to be a good example and having a rapport with children. If you are a good father with your own children, you would be a good mentor.”
Lancaster’s caring and consistent relationship as a mentor has been used as an example for recruiting and training other mentors, Buchanan said. He was selected for the Tulsa Public Schools Senior Volunteer of the Year Award Award for 2008-09.
“He is not only making an impact at Sequoyah, but across the district as others see his great example,” Buchanan said.
The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 by then-U.S. Sen. Boren, recognizes and encourages academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools. In 2005, the foundation launched the Boren Mentoring Initiative to promote the growth and development of school-based mentoring statewide. The initiative grew out of Boren’s own commitment to mentoring and the proven impact that mentoring can have on a student’s success in and out of the classroom.
For more information on the Boren Mentoring Initiative or National Mentoring Month activities, visit www.okmentors.org or call Jennifer Geren, program director, at (405) 410-1523. For information on Tulsa-area mentoring opportunities, call the Mayor’s Action line at 211.