Mentorship
During the week, my parents often left me in the house alone for work. Faced with complete boredom, and with nothing but free time and some spare cash, I would just skate down 3rd street with friends, whose parents were also working extra during the weekends. From Rosemont Elementary in Filipinotown to Cahuenga Elementary in Koreatown, I grew up with kids living in underprivileged communities who parents weren't always there for them. Fortunately enough, however, I had other parental figures take their place and act as mentors. These included The LAUSD after school program workers who would stay hours after their shift to take care of me while I wait for my mom to finish her overtime shifts during the week, my Filipino elementary school teachers Mr. Munda and Ms. Mann who taught me to shoot for the stars, and most significantly my high school wrestling coach, Ryan, who played a huge part in shaping who I am as a young man today. Experiences like this allow me to realize just how important mentorships are in life, and how important it is to pay it back.
My first experience of mentorship came during the summer after Sophomore Year in High School, I traveled back to my hometown in the Philippines to volunteer as a teacher assistant in the underprivileged elementary school where I spent my kindergarten year. I helped teach Math and English in small rooms packed with fifty or more kids, many who have to share their desks. Ultimately through my experiences there, I’ve discovered that I am completely satisfied to have taken a part in something similar that positively improved my life growing up. This page is dedicated to the lifelong experiences of mentorship that I'll be a part of.
During the week, my parents often left me in the house alone for work. Faced with complete boredom, and with nothing but free time and some spare cash, I would just skate down 3rd street with friends, whose parents were also working extra during the weekends. From Rosemont Elementary in Filipinotown to Cahuenga Elementary in Koreatown, I grew up with kids living in underprivileged communities who parents weren't always there for them. Fortunately enough, however, I had other parental figures take their place and act as mentors. These included The LAUSD after school program workers who would stay hours after their shift to take care of me while I wait for my mom to finish her overtime shifts during the week, my Filipino elementary school teachers Mr. Munda and Ms. Mann who taught me to shoot for the stars, and most significantly my high school wrestling coach, Ryan, who played a huge part in shaping who I am as a young man today. Experiences like this allow me to realize just how important mentorships are in life, and how important it is to pay it back.
My first experience of mentorship came during the summer after Sophomore Year in High School, I traveled back to my hometown in the Philippines to volunteer as a teacher assistant in the underprivileged elementary school where I spent my kindergarten year. I helped teach Math and English in small rooms packed with fifty or more kids, many who have to share their desks. Ultimately through my experiences there, I’ve discovered that I am completely satisfied to have taken a part in something similar that positively improved my life growing up. This page is dedicated to the lifelong experiences of mentorship that I'll be a part of.
Joint Educational Project
ReadersPlus Tutor | Jan 2016 - Dec 2016
My duty as a ReadersPlus tutor was to assist students who are performing at the third quartile--those students who are just below grade level and may just need a little extra attention to pull them into books. In addition to being assigned my own students in the semester, I also work in the after school program. My tasks for both these jobs include:
1. Improving skills and strategies for learning,
2. Exposing children to various forms of literature
3. Making reading and math fun and interactive, and
4. Creating a positive learning relationship with students through frequent one-on-one interactions
Equally as important, I act as a life mentor and role model to these kids. Having grown up in the inner city as well, I serve as a mirroring life mentor to these kids since I know what it's like to have grown up without a lot of support. I want them to know that they, not their circumstances, have the power to enrich themselves through education and good decisions - with the end goal of going to college to follow their dreams.