Month: January 2021

OKLAHOMA CITY – Twenty-two outstanding Oklahoma mentors are being recognized by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and their community mentoring organizations during National Mentor Month in January.

The honored mentors were submitted by their respective mentoring organizations across the state, and each received certificates of achievement from the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. The certificates are being presented in the communities where the mentors volunteer.

“We salute these outstanding mentors for the important role they play in helping young people achieve better academic, social and economic futures,” said Emily Stratton, executive director of the Foundation for Excellence. “Oklahoma mentors are truly changing lives!”

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is a statewide nonprofit that recognizes and encourages academic excellence in Oklahoma’s public schools. Through its statewide mentoring initiative, the foundation promotes the growth and development of quality youth mentoring programs. The foundation works with school districts and mentoring organizations to promote mentoring as a positive step toward academic success.

 “Through a statewide survey of mentoring organizations, we found that the most positive program outcomes were improved academic performance, positive mentor-mentee relationships, improved behavior, increased self-esteem and greater enrichment opportunities for participating youth,” Stratton said. “Mentoring also helps students develop resilience and feel supported as they face difficult life challenges.”

National Mentoring Month is a campaign sponsored by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership to celebrate the power of mentoring relationships and recruit new volunteer mentors. The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence provides a directory of mentoring organizations across the state seeking volunteers. For more information and a list of this year’s honored mentors, visit www.okmentors.org.

 (EDITOR: The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence and community mentoring organizations are recognizing 20 outstanding Oklahoma mentors during National Mentoring Month. Honorees are listed below by their hometown and the city in which they mentor. Honored mentor bios and program descriptions are posted online at www.okmentors.org and linked below.)

BARTLESVILLE – Rachelle Wilson, commercial banker at Arvest Bank, is the outstanding mentor for the Lowe Family Young Scholars Program.

BEAVER – Olene Hale, a retired community volunteer, is the outstanding mentor for Beaver Duster Mentoring Program.

BIG CABIN – Royden Heginbotham, a retired volunteer, is the outstanding mentor for the Thunderbird Challenge Program in Pryor.

CLAREMORE – Garrett Ewell, a quality engineer with The Nordam Group LLC, is the outstanding mentor for STARBASE Oklahoma 2.0. Ewell is a resident of Claremore.

John Lingenfelter, a retired community volunteer, is the outstanding mentor for Volunteers for Youth.

DUNCAN – Terry Dennard, vice president at Legacy Bank, is the outstanding mentor for Link ONE Mentoring, ONE True Light Inc.

ELGIN – Olivia Long, a senior electrical engineering major at Oklahoma State University, is the outstanding mentor for the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Scholars Mentor Program. Long is from Elgin.

EL RENO – Kathy Hill, a sign language interpreter from Yukon, is the outstanding mentor for House of Healing in El Reno.

LAWTON – Elizabeth Nalley, professor of chemistry at Cameron University, is the outstanding mentor for the Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation.  

Bryan and Ida Mae Wheeler, a retired couple from Lawton, are the outstanding mentors for Southwest Oklahoma Juvenile Center in Manitou.

LEEDEY – Connie Quattlebaum, a retired community volunteer, is the outstanding mentor for Believe In Some One Now (B.I.S.O.N.) Mentors, a program of Leedey Public Schools.

MANITOU – Bryan and Ida Mae Wheeler, a retired couple from Lawton, are the outstanding mentors for Southwest Oklahoma Juvenile Center in Manitou.

NORMAN – Ronald Anderson, assistant professor of management at the University of Oklahoma, is the outstanding mentor for the Division of Management & International Business Mentoring Program, Price College of Business.

Shavonne Evans, a real estate agent for Keller Williams-Mullinix of Norman, is the outstanding mentor for Bridges of Norman Inc.

Mallory Lambert, a senior international business and accounting major at the University of Oklahoma, is the outstanding mentor for the JCPenney Leadership Program, Price College of Business. Lambert is from Tomball, Texas.

Taylor Thacker, a senior chemical, biological and materials engineering major, is the outstanding mentor for the Chevron Phillips Scholar-Mentor Program at the University of Oklahoma.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Jolene Ingram, a retired community volunteer, is the outstanding mentor for Whiz Kids Oklahoma.

Nancy Nathaniel, a retired community volunteer, has been named the outstanding mentor for the INTEGRIS Positive Directions Mentoring Program at Stanley Hupfeld Academy.

PRYOR – Royden Heginbotham, a retired volunteer from Big Cabin, is the outstanding mentor for the Thunderbird Challenge Program in Pryor.

STILLWATER – Sarah Casey, a senior chemical engineering major at Oklahoma State University, is the outstanding mentor for the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Peer Mentor Program. Casey is from Houston, Texas.

Scott Cornelius, a fifth-year architecture major at Oklahoma State University, is the outstanding mentor for the Architecture Mentoring Program. He is a resident of Stillwater.

Olivia Long, a senior electrical engineering major at Oklahoma State University, is the outstanding mentor for the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Scholars Mentor Program. Long is from Elgin.

Brooke Ryan, a fifth-year architecture major from Oklahoma State University, is the outstanding mentor for the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Summer Bridge Program. Ryan is from El Dorado, Kansas.

Patrick Williams, a junior mechanical and aerospace engineering major at Oklahoma State University, is the outstanding mentor for the Parker Engineering, Architecture and Technology Experts program. Williams is a resident of Stillwater.

TULSA – Garrett Ewell, a quality engineer with The Nordam Group LLC, is the outstanding mentor for STARBASE Oklahoma 2.0. Ewell is a resident of Claremore.

YUKON – Kathy Hill, a sign language interpreter from Yukon, is the outstanding mentor for House of Healing.