The Setons Of Gonzaga

This semester, my Monday afternoons have absolutely full of love. My mentee, Kanaan, has taught me compassion, to forgive mistakes and how to appreciate a brand new deck of cards. Walking into Artisans each week to eleven smiling mentees waiting to tell us anything and everything has brought me inexplicable joy. I have found that there is a real sense of a family community among the mentees at Artisans. They know each other’s likes and dislikes, and are quick to tell the mentors when one of their friends is running late. Their genuine care for each other and love of life is a gentle reminder to slow down from our hectic academic schedules. Soon after meeting my mentee, Kanaan, I instantly realized what a rewarding experience this would be. Kanaan immediately told me that checkers is his favorite game because he likes to strategize. The first time we played, he beat me pretty badly. I’m slowly improving thanks to the tips Kanaan gives me, but I need to keep practicing. Kana

It’s been a few weeks since we started working with Artisans, and it’s been such a blast! My mentee’s name is Carrie, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her throughout the semester. Most days Carrie and I spend time telling stories, coloring, putting together puzzles, watching old movies, or working on some of her goals. This year, Carrie has three goals that she’s working on. The first is to improve her math skills. One of the first things that she told me when we met was that she wants to know how money works. Carrie has shown a lot of interest in cashier jobs, so we’ve been working with monopoly money to improve those skills. Another goal of Carrie’s is to improve her interviewing/ social skills. And the last major goal of hers is to learn the basic functions of computers. I thought that this was a really good goal, since most of today’s jobs involve some form of technology. Working with Carrie and getting to know her has been such a privilege. It’s truly a mutually benefic

After several weeks of going to Artisans, I've gotten to know my mentee, Erik, very well! Erik and I both share a passion for cooking and food. We love discussing recipes and telling each other about our favorite foods. Erik loves every type of food, EXCEPT organic spaghetti. Erik and I love watching The Food Network! His favorite show is Guy's Grocery Games, and mine is Giada at Home. It has been so cool to bond with Erik over these things. I can always expect a conversation about what we had for lunch as the first thing we talk about during our sessions. Erik and I also have bonded over the fact we both have Pugs. We love our dogs! Erik and I, as well as the other mentees and mentors in my group, are hoping to go on outings to the bowling alley, froyo, and even possibly the movies! Erik ALWAYS has a smile on his face, whether we are playing games or doing something more serious like writing down our goals. This week Erik and I worked together to create cards, which will be

This week I learned a whole lot about what love looks like through my mentee, Misty! Due to some scheduling complications, this Wednesday was my first time meeting Misty. She greeted me with a huge smile and a high-five, exclaiming, “Let’s get this thing started!” As we strolled into the room, she took a seat and looked at me in anticipation. I asked her how her weekend was, and before I knew it we were chatting about everything from siblings to Halloween candy to bowling. We quickly found our mutual love for the Zags-happily chanting “Go Zags!” in unison and at the randomest times. We started working on our cards, and Misty was consistently kind-happily contributing suggestions along the way and cheering me on after I finished a card. For our LifePrint photo, we stood against the wall and gave our best “smolder”-Misty made it clear that I had it in me to be America’s Next Top Model. Once our cards were finished, we played an exhilarating round of “Pop the Pig”, a nerve-wracking ga