Students at Buffalo High School have had the privilege to play many helpful roles in their school, such as sports, teacher assistants, and other activities to feel like a team. This year, students have the opportunity to mentor their peers. Some are taking this chance to help classmates with disabilities.
The opportunity began when teachers and students were asked to take a survey at the end of last year.
“When the question was asked ‘Do you feel supported by administrators, counselors, teachers and peers?’ The results were well above national averages for administrators, counselors, teachers, however, we were in the average range for students feeling supported by their peers,” said Kristen Lane , Counselor at BHS. “I have worked with peer tutoring programs before and felt that a version of that could be one way to help.”
The teachers and counselors for the first year added up mentors to line up with students with specific needs.
“I went into mentoring to learn more about disabilities and about more of the conditions they had,” said recent mentor Bre Lindquist.
Little did she know she would be gaining so much more. By the end of the second quarter she felt so grateful to have had this opportunity.
Tyler Pinor, a sophomore with cerebral palsy, has been matched with a mentor for a few of his classes.
“Not only do I get to make friendships with others I get to interact with students around my age,” said Tyler. “With one-on-one I can get my questions answered easier.”
“Nothing could ever top the feeling of seeing Tyler ’s smiling face, Billy’s smile looking over to greet me after every math problem, and the kids laughter,” said Lindquist. “I loved talking to them about their days and learning about their lives. It really opened up my eyes on their appreciation and happiness on life.
“Being their mentor wasn’t just being their mentor, it was putting our lives together and them becoming a part in my everyday.”
