One of the first thoughts I had after I received the news that I would have to leave Colby College in the middle of the semester wasn’t how I would get home to San Francisco. It wasn’t where to store a dorm room full of stuff, or that I was leaving my friends. My first thought was, I need to say goodbye to my Colby Cares About Kids mentee.

Many of you who are parents or teachers know that Colby Cares About Kids is a program that pairs Colby students (mentors) with local youth (mentees) in one-on-one mentoring pairs for students in grades K-12 within the greater Waterville area. The goal of the program is to provide the mentee with an additional role model and friend who can be a consistent part of their school experience.

As someone who has always enjoyed being around and working with children, the program was something I knew I had to sign up for as soon as I got to Colby. After two years of working with my mentee, my love for working with children has only grown.

Joining the program was a way for me to continue my love for being around children and a way for me to get involved in a club on campus. However, I did not realize that it would lead me to a deeper understanding of the community that I would become a part of for the next four years. Taking a weekly or biweekly trip to Atwood Primary in Oakland allowed me to experience the greater Waterville community through its members, including the wonderful teachers and the curious and energetic students with whom I interacted. I came to understand, appreciate and learn about my new community in a way that I had not before. Becoming a mentor gave me a new perspective on Waterville that otherwise would have been only from what I had heard and seen from Mayflower Hill.   

Every Thursday I would make a trip to visit my mentee. At first, I was worried that we wouldn’t get along, or I wouldn’t have time in my busy schedule to be consistent. But being a mentor and engaging with the Waterville community was one of my most rewarding experiences so far in college. The ability to focus on building a relationship and devoting all my attention to helping my mentee grow as a person and student, while learning about my new community, was a welcome break from the college world.

Although most of my time has been fun and carefree, the opportunity to mentor has shown me firsthand some of the challenges that children can face. But having the opportunity to watch these children grow and thrive despite difficulties in their lives has been truly eye-opening and inspiring.

The experience also helped my fellow mentors and I realize how we have a real responsibility as we work in the schools and that our presence is important. In some cases, that little bit of extra attention from a mentor — as a person to talk to, a role model, or someone to ask for help from, even to show up consistently — has really helped the children succeed in school, or cope with whatever else they were struggling with.

I feel for the 400-plus other Colby student mentor-mentee pairs who are no doubt feeling as crushed as I am to have their experience together cut short this semester. For me, and many others, the goals and benefits of being a mentor extend beyond our weekly interactions. In my experience, watching my mentee grow to become more confident and sure of herself has been so rewarding, and it has proved to me that I am making a difference in her life. I know I’ll keep coming back to her for the rest of my college experience, and many of my fellow mentors feel the same and plan to continue mentoring until they graduate.

Because I won’t see my mentee until next January, when I return from a semester abroad, I worry about losing precious time that would have been spent watching her grow and mature. I also worry that the relationship that we have worked so hard to form will weaken over the time that we are apart. Although I never got to say goodbye to my mentee, I am already looking forward to seeing her smiling face when I finally get to see her again.

So, thank you to my Colby Cares About Kids mentee. Though I’m sad our time was cut short this semester, I will be back. And I’ll never take another moment of our time together for granted.

And thank you Oakland and the greater Waterville area for the opportunity to not only be a part of your wonderful community, but to also be a part of your children’s lives. Though this pandemic is keeping us apart, I think of them and am inspired by them every day.

Eliza Dean is a member of the class of 2022 at Colby College in Waterville.

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