Mentoring Program Improves Outlook, Attitudes

‘I get all the gak!” proclaimed Ryan Sink.

“What can you say, he likes science,” said Brett Woodland, a Gonzaga University freshman towering above the fifth-grader.

Sink’s passion is science, but his love - at least last week - was gak, a funky mixture of borax, glue, water and food coloring that looks like poorly-made pancake batter. As Sink gleefully molded the goop in a hall at Gonzaga University, Woodland watched and encourage him.

“We don’t get to do science in my school,” said Sink.

The two have been matched up through a new partnership between Gonzaga University and Stevens and Logan elementary schools that is part Big Brothers and Sisters, part tutoring.

Once a week, Sink and Woodland - and 29 other pairs of college kids and fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students - meet to talk about school, friends, home, goals, life or whatever else comes up.

Last week, it was archery. “Do we get to do archery?” asked Sink.

Three weeks into the program, the friendships between mentors and the younger students are still forming. Visits outside those arranged by Gonzaga coordinators are prohibited because of insurance liablity, but Woodland and Sink have been exchanging letters.

Woodland has met Sink’s mother and has talked to him about school. Others have told their mentors sad stories of disfunctional family life.

The program creator, Sima Thorpe, said the program is intended to help the older students improve the attitudes and outlooks of the younger students.

She researched other collegepublic school mentor programs before writing a proposal to the state Higher Education Coordinating Board. Thorpe was awarded a $33,000 grant.

“At the very least, these kids are not going to be afraid of a college campus,” said Thorpe, who used to work for the low-income legal assistance group Spokane Legal Services. “At the very most, we’d like to see kids do better in school, have better relations with others, have better relations with their parents.”

The elementary students were chosen by groups of school administrators and faculty, who looked for kids who needed extra academic or social help, had poor attendance records but good communication skills and who could benefit from exposure to college life.

Sink said he likes coming to campus after his school is done. But, like a nervous fifth-grader, he quickly changed the subject when asked how he feels about it.

“Eeww, that’s gross,” he said, as another student squished a ball of gak.

The older students were picked from a pool of 70 applicants by a seven-person staff. The mentors were screened through intensive interviews and reference checks.

All the younger students went through a pre-assessment process, in which their grades and attitudes were recorded. At the end of the year, the students will be analyzed again.

Many of the Gonzaga students were drawn by their idealism, said Thorpe. Amber Wilke, one of the seven paid coordinators, said she is as pragmatic as can be.

“One of the things in my life is I put my actions where my mouth is,” said Wilde, a senior English and history major. “It’s easy to say our education system isn’t cutting it. But what are you doing about it?”

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