Welcome to the first Mentor Monday. Gotta start somewhere! I’m glad it’s with this crew. The format will likely change a bit as we build this thing out, but the content will always be a good mix of inspiration and practical information. Yesterday’s Match Day was awesome. Thank you for making it such a wonderful time. We’ve heard loads of feedback from students and parents about how many of the kids love their mentor. We’re off to a great start! Check out a few of the photos below. I love these group photos — we should have done them at the beginning when everyone was there!

Key takeaways from today’s Mentor Monday:

Same time, same place.

Rachael is connecting everyone to their student through text today. When you get connected, definitely text your student asap. If you haven’t texted them yet, every hour that goes by they might be wondering thinking does my mentor care about me or are they interested in me.

If you haven’t met your student face to face yet, consider sending a voice-note or a video telling them a little about you. Also consider saying something like “I can’t wait to meet you! I’m sorry I was out of town in _____ and I couldn’t be there yesterday to meet you face to face. I was suuuper bummed, but I can’t wait to get together! …
The most successful mentors we have are ones that meet consistently at the same spot at the same time. Your very first assignment is to text them several options that will work for you every single week. Then ask then if any of those work for them and what they prefer. One mentor met with her student last year at Foxtrot every week for breakfast at 6:30 on the same day. I met at LDU every other Tuesday because that was my student’s favorite spot to go almost every day after school. You can tell them, “The most important thing to me is that we get consistent time. Some people meet for breakfast, some people meet for coffee, some people go on walks after school. This is what my schedule will allow. I can meet before these times / after these times. Will any of those work for you?”
You can always ask them if they have a favorite coffee shop or breakfast spot and stick with that. Or if they like the idea of going on a walk to some spot to go a coffee or smoothie, etc. The main attitude to have is “I’m happy to do anything you like!”

Be interested more than interesting.

Always stay curious. Try to find out something new about them each week. Start by asking questions about their family, friends, sports, etc. The basics. Their favorite ____. Place to eat. Movie. Musician. Vacation spot. Then move on to questions like:

“So what’s it like growing up here?”
“What are some of the things you like most about your ____?
What are some of the challenges you’ve been facing lately?
Which of your friends do you admire the most and why?

I also love the follow-up questions to key conversations moving and going deeper.

“Can you tell me more about that?”
“What do you think about that?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“So what was that like?”
And my favorite, “How did that make you feel?”

Mentor Captains

Stay tuned for those Matches coming this week. I can’t wait for you to meet them. I think it’s going to be a game-changer for everyone.

See you next Monday :)