Youth Mentoring at Community for Youth

[Music]

So, Community For Youth, like, it's kind of 
been in my family. So, like, all my sisters  

have been in it, so I was like "Okay I'm gonna 
do it too, because my sister's been telling me  

so much great things about CFY, and I was like 
this is a new opportunity for me to take", so  

I decided to take it and I just really enjoy it. 
If you need jobs, if you're looking for college,  

school, they benefit you in a lot of ways. Around 
the summer after Covid, my friend invited me  

to like, this like, tabling event and I was just 
like, really drawn into like, the people's like,  

they were all so welcoming to me and like, I came 
over there honestly just to have some like  

pizza or something. I didn't even know that by the 
end of it I would like, have a one-on-one mentor  

that I would be able to talk to and hang out with. 
My mentor's name is Leah. I met her about... We  

just had our one year anniversary. My mentor, 
Eric, he's been very inspiring, supportive,  

and well experienced. Leia is a very supportive 
and sweet person. She's always there when I need  

it. But she's also like, really kind and funny and 
understanding, and just super easy to talk to.  

She's like a adult in my life that I could look 
up to or like go to for help when I need help with  

something. I could talk to her about my problems, 
she'll be there and give me advice. And she's just  

someone that I've like, been really looking up to, 
because like, she's like, almost everything I want  

to be, honestly. Having a mentor made me grow in 
like, confidence in life. I felt more confident  

in doing things knowing that someone's always 
there to support me. Leia has really helped me  

with college preparation and also been helping me 
be confident in my public speaking. It's just nice  

to have another support system and I'm... I think 
I do want to be a support system in the future to  

somebody else cuz it's just so, it's just, it's 
always nice to have another supporter and like,  

cheerleader in your life. I'm mentoring someone in 
my family, which is my little sister. I've always  

wanted to be a role model for her. Growing 
up, I never had anyone mentor me and like,  

I thought that was really difficult cuz my family 
were immigrants. So, I want to set a good example  

for my sister and get a lot of experience 
so I can always be there to help her. So,  

if Sasha was here sitting next to you what would 
you like to say to her. I would would say, "Sasha,  

first of all, hi. Thank you so much for everything 
that you've helped me achieve and if I get rich  

I'm going to buy your Lamborghini. I would say 
that I love her and she's sick right now so I  

hope she feels better soon and that I'm so happy 
that I met her and I always look forward to our  

hangouts. If Leia was sitting next to me right 
now, I'd really want to express how grateful  

I am to her and how much she's really helped me 
grown over these two years. I would actually say  

thank you and also really proud cuz I feel like 
he's also grown a lot as a person. Yo, I really  

don't know what to say if my mentor was right 
here. Like, it's so blank right now. Like, I love  

her so much I don't know what to say. Looks like 
you just said it. Yeah you just said it. That was

perfect. That was great.

Music