Today's "Share the Love" Feature: Ricky Syndab, Former Mentee
Below are some snippets from Ricky's senior essay sharing how the Marietta Mentoring for Leadership Program has impacted his life:
How the Mentoring for leadership program has impacted my life? Let’s put it this way, if I haven’t heard about this program then I don’t believe I would have met the people who helped me tremendously throughout the short amount of time I’ve spent with the program towards the end of my eighth grade to a year and a half in high school. Although I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked throughout the year it was still a pleasure being a part of this organization.
My eighth grade year, I had a close friend who told me about the program called MFL and he explained to me what the program is about and how it helped him. I wanted to be a part of this program so I asked how I could join and he told me to go speak to the ladies from the front office and the will help you get in. I contact a lady who is over the program by the name of Marge Kellogg. They gave me her contact information and I mentioned it to my mom and she said she would give her a call the next day. As the next day went by, I got a call from my mom at school and she was able to speak with Mrs. Kellogg and she signed me up for the program that day.
I was very excited and I was able to be alongside my friend but surprisingly he wasn’t the only friend from my school that was a part of the program which was a huge relief so it wasn’t so hard adjusting myself to the program. About a week or two later, I was finally able to meet Ms. K during a pizza lunch and she explained more details about MFL and she told me there was a banquet coming up very soon and I will be able to meet my mentor during the banquet. The banquet was at first United Methodist Church and Mrs. K introduced me to my mentor David Jones and his family and at first I was a bit nervous because I never had a mentor but it didn’t take long at all for me to open up to him. Mr. David helped me with teenage boys stuff like giving me advice about life, girls my age, basketball, etc. Without his guidance, I might have a hard time struggling in that department. I was very grateful to have another male role model in my life besides my dad and he definitely helped shape me into the person I am today.
The MSL program has helped me tremendously as a person, I honestly don’t know where I would be right now in my life without their guidance. They have introduced me to opportunities that I didn’t think were available to me so I am beyond grateful for being a part of this program. I want to give a special thank you to Mrs. Kellogg, my mentor David Jones, Mrs. Kristin, Miss Claire, Mrs. Beverly, Coach Shaq, and all the others who made my high school experience the best it could have possibly been. It has been a tremendous honor to be a part of the program. I am very blessed to have those people a part of my life. Thank you and may God bless.
