VOICE Mentor

BY Heidi Kayler and Tina Weber

VOICE Mentor Program Managers

What is a VOICE Mentor?

The VOICE (Volunteers of Issaquah Changing Education) Mentor Program pairs community volunteers with Issaquah School District students for one-on-one social, emotional, or academic support. As a mentor, you will meet with your mentee at school each week. You might play games, do creative projects, help with academics, or just have great conversations while helping to develop the social emotional skills and resilience that help students succeed in school and life.

Why is mentoring important for our students?

At school, students spend most of their time in groups. Mentoring allows students to spend one-on-one time with a supportive adult whose focus is on supporting the student in whatever way they need – and sometimes, what they need is someone they can talk to in their first language.

What is the benefit of having VOICE mentors who can speak different languages?

Many of our students benefit from having positive, caring mentors who talk and connect with them in the language they feel most comfortable using. This mentor support has made a huge difference for many of our Multi-Lingual Learner (MLL) students. That is why our program is seeking mentors who can speak various languages. We have an immediate need for mentors who speak Korean, Spanish and Mandarin. Additionally, we receive requests for mentors who speak Russian, Arabic, Farsi, Japanese, and and calligraphy. Students also love sharing their work with me. I love the feeling of living in harmony with other creatures in nature. I have a hamster, a guinea pig, dozens of goldfish, and just adopted a dog. I also enjoy participating in many community activities and volunteer services related to art, culture, and education. many other languages.

What is required to become a VOICE mentor?

Before being approved as a mentor, you will attend an initial training, so you feel confident going into your first mentor meeting. The commitment involves meeting with the student for 30-60 minutes once per week during the school day for the remainder of the school year. Your schedule would be coordinated to be convenient for both you and the student. If anyone is interested, here is a link to the VOICE website (https://www.isd411.org/get-involved/voice-mentor-program), which also has a button to apply.

VOICE Mentor: Wenli Mithal. Wenli speaks Mandarin and English and mentors several students at Sunny Hills Elementary.

My name is Wenli Mithal. I have been a VOICE mentor for more than a year now.

I’ve always wanted to be a mentor. Last year, I was able to take this role. Since I also speak Mandarin, the site coordinator thought it might be a good fit to support students who were new to the school and a bit quiet in the classroom. It would help student ease their shyness and build confidence. We read books, play games, and share interesting stories during the time we have together. With my older mentee, I am helping with time management and homework support.

It’s very rewarding to see the mentees flourish since we first met. They are building friendships with their peers, expressing their thought/idea more often than before, and showing signs of adjusting well to the new environments.

Knowledge of my mentee’s home language is definitely beneficial for the mentees and me. I was able to understand and relate when students are expressing their thoughts and ideas, which reduces frustration and anxiety tremendously. I think this would help contribute to building a foundation of confidence and self-esteem.

VOICE Mentor: Matt LaBelle. Matt speaks Russian and English and mentors five students at five different schools.

This is my third year as a mentor. My ongoing commitments include VOICE, Eastside Friends, RecoveryCafe, Seattle University alumni mentoring, and Green Issaquah.

When VOICE recruited me, I had experience building friendships with senior adults and college-aged students. Curiosity was a factor that led me to mentor K-6 students. With everyone, dependable conversation and presence between us continues to build confidence in our friendship. Equal control over what we do each week is important. Often, there is a meaningful conversation. Sometimes, there is less conversation, but being present there as quiet drawing happens is perfect, too.

The most rewarding experience...? After some time passes and we've met a few or more times, the conversation slows down, and we're comfortable enough to share real eye contact and truly share a conversation. Trust that a friendship is real is earned.

Three of my mentees learned Russian as their first language. Most of our conversation is in English, with some Russian mixed in. There seems to be a mutual accord between us as I acknowledge their English language skills, and they realize my Russian language skills leave room for lots of improvement.

VOICE Mentor: Inga Anderson who mentors at Liberty High.

My name in Inga Anderson. I have two kids in the Issaquah School District (4th and 11th grade), and I’ve been with VOICE Mentor program for about 4-5 years.

A few years back, I heard about the program while volunteering at the Issaquah Schools Foundation. I wanted to try it out as it sounded like a good way to have a direct impact on kids. Since then, I've mentored five kids. As a VOICE Mentor, you meet with the same student throughout the year (usually once a week for 1 hour) and you create a relationship with them. Usually, it's to support students who need a break from their routine, or students who need a support person not involved in their academic schedule, or someone who recently moved to the area and needs more help navigating the new changes.

I love creating relationships with these kids. I mentored a student for over three years until she moved to another district. I really enjoyed seeing her grow up through the years and how she always looked forward to our time together drawing or playing games. I also speak a few languages and can help kids who moved recently moved to the U.S.. I've been mentoring some high school students who moved here from Ukraine last year. They didn't know English well and it was very helpful to them to speak to someone in a language they knew. I was able to help them navigate and understand the school system, answer their questions, and help them ask the right questions of their counselors.

If you are thinking about VOICE Mentor, just try it out! It's a 1-hour per week commitment and it's not a complicated process. You just need to be there for the kids. Also, the VOICE Program provides a lot of materials and training and are very helpful with questions.