THE JOY AND PRIDE OF MENTORING

 

At Grenoble Public School. From Left to Right:
Kathleen Wynne, MPP Don Valley; John Bertram, Former Program Coordinator;
Conchita Tan-Willman, Executive Director, PMC; Mrs. D. Flannagan,
Vice Principal, Grenoble; Jan Vink, Principal, Grenoble Public School.

 

Testimonials by Protégés

Being a mentor gives you the great satisfaction of helping a student grow and develop, while expanding their horizons to the world ahead of them; however, having a mentor yourself who has truly inspired you is a wonderful gift that I will only attempt to express in words.

Good evening, family, friends and mentors. My name is Carly Cheng. I am a grade 12 student at St. Joseph's Morrow Park, graduating this year and heading to the University of Toronto in the fall studying life sciences. My experiences with Prime Mentors of Canada started 4 years ago as a student in grade 8 deciding on where to go for high school and it still continues on today as I pass a milestone in my life and enter the next exciting stage of post secondary school.

I was mentored by Dr. Dugald Matheson, whom I still keep in touch with today presenting a project on the Immune System. Having this experience was not only eye opening, but life directing. I learned so much, not only from the text book but also about life and the endless possibilities that are available if I only chose to discover them. Because of this new found friendship, Dr. Matheson helped me to discover my career choice of Medicine in Paediatrics. Thank you for that and much more.

I was awarded with a generous Diana and Charles Tisdall Scholarship, which would go towards funding my post secondary education. Not only did I start an investment in life, but this involvement in the program gave me the opportunity to meet a remarkable woman and dear friend. Dr. Conchita Tan-Willman is the driving force behind this program who has touched my heart and helped me come to where I am today. Without you, I wouldn't be who I am. Thank you Conchita!

She has given me the opportunity to participate in the Community Builders in Action Leadership Program where we regularly meet with other young leaders of today funneling our great minds together, creating projects to reach out to the community and learn about ourselves. She is my mentor, guiding me through high school, community initiatives, the ever so long process of scholarship applications and interviews, right down to every day life. A mentor not only shares experiences, but allows the student to learn from them. I have witnessed firsthand sincere kindness, generosity, and most of all, love.

To all of the mentors in the audience tonight, and those that dedicate their time to this worthwhile program, I want to extend a warm thank-you to you. You are the ones who provide students like myself with the opportunity to learn beyond the classroom. You are the ones who touch our hearts and inspire us to do the best we can. And you are the ones who we remember as our role models when we are making decisions in life, because you have been there to lead by example. Have a wonderful evening. Thank-you.

Carly Cheng

 

Mentor Barney Singh at the reception

 

Good evening, mentors, parents, guests, and fellow protégés. My name is Michael Mak, and I was one of the many protégés who have benefited greatly from my participation in the Prime Mentors Program.

It is nearly impossible for me to describe, in such a short period of time this evening, everything that I have explored, gathered, and learned in my three years in the program. To start with, I first entered the program in grade 6, under the guidance of Professor Fred Speed, a remarkable man whose many talents are as numerous as his accomplishments. Under his excellent guidance, measureless knowledge and undying patience with me. We presented a project on cells and cloning at the end of the school year. We stayed in collaboration for the following year, producing a thorough investigation on Albert Einstein and his Theory of General Relativity. My third year touched upon the Big Bang Theory, this time with Chris Chan, a brilliant student studying at the University of Toronto.

Throughout these three years, I believe that I have learned more than at any other period in my life. But this doesn't only include knowledge. My time with my mentors has bestowed upon me other vital skills, such as how to plan and complete a project, research strategy, and presentation skills. However, the time spent with such amazing people is what I treasure most. It's not every day that you get to meet such wise and enthusiastic individuals willing to come to your school, once or twice a week, to spend an hour with you investigating something that you want to know more about. Why, I have to pay my piano teacher to spend that time with me! Such an opportunity is priceless. I am confident that all protégés share the same sentiment of thanks with me and I would like everyone to give a huge round of applause to these untiring mentors, dedicated and forever young to their profession. Let's hear it for the mentors!

I believe that the Prime Mentors program has also provided the younger generation with role models to look forward to in the future. The mentoring relationship that developed between the protégés and the mentors is like a bond between the past and the future. Without the past, the future cannot exist. Thus, the present is a place where the future generation can interact and learn from those with experience. The Prime Mentors program is a part of that place, recruiting the talents and skills of the mentors to instill their wisdom and knowledge into the protégés, so that they too can help to build a better future for their own generation.

In addition to the Prime Mentors program, I am currently participating in the World Council. a round table for discussion of any matter affecting the well-being of humanity and our natural world. The World Council allows us to don the personification of a great individual from the past, for instance, Albert Einstein, and identify the problems that we see in the present. By recognizing the issues of today, we are given the opportunity to shape a better tomorrow. In addition, the Council has introduced me to new people, all with great ideas on how to make our world a better place to live in. Together, to change the world, we need to start small. Thus, the Council members have each implemented plans on how to improve the communities that we live in, and then, gradually over time, grow to build a happier and more peaceful world.

To conclude, the Prime Mentors program and the World Council have all influenced me greatly. My participation in these programs has broadened my scope of perception and knowledge and I am most fortunate and privileged with outstanding and enthusiastic individuals, like Professor Tan-Willman and Ms. Linda Rosier and I hope that I can continue to receive the benefit of their experience and wisdom to develop lifelong desire to learn and the challenge to aspire to excellence. Thank-you.

Michael Mak

 

Part of the audience

 

Good evening, staff and students of Grenoble P.S. and members of Prime Mentors of Canada. My name is Sameeha Zaynab and I am fifteen years old. I am currently in Grade 9 at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute. I am honoured to have been chosen to speak on behalf of the protégés of this amazing program.

I first found out that I was a part of the Prime Mentors program when I was in Grade 5. I was nervous at first, not knowing quite what to expect, but as the program progressed onward, I enjoyed every minute that I spent in it. The very first task that I took on was a project, choosing a topic of my own choice and working on it with the help of my mentor, Mrs. Helen King, who is in the audience this evening. She and I met every Thursday for about two hours to work on my project. Throughout the process I learnt how to conduct presentations, how to effectively gather information, and how to properly apply these skills. I have benefited from the knowledge that I acquired, and continue to use these skills in my projects and presentations.

After the completion of the project I was very fortunate to receive a Prime Mentors Scholarship, which is awarded to a select few. Being part of the scholars' circle has been beneficial to me on many levels. Not only have I continued to enrich my knowledge, and to develop skills that I might not have developed at school or otherwise, but I also had the chance to make friends of all ages from different schools whom I could relate with on common topics.

About a year ago I was asked to be a part of a new addition to the program - The World Council. The World Council is an amazing approach founded by a group titled The Concept 3 Group. During our meetings we took on legendary personas such as Mahatma Gandhi, Sir Alexander Graham Bell, Martin Luther King, Jr., and many others. As the personae, we discussed issues that affect our world today and thought of reasonable approaches to taking action. After my first encounter taking part in The World Council I was awestruck to realize the depth of the issues that we encounter daily. We often see a biased point of view and do not understand to true picture until we get to the root cause of things. When The Council came to an end, all of the members were given projects that we call "Community Builders in Action". These are ongoing projects that we focus on based on the issues we, the youth, face at school or in our communities. We have learned from time-to-time that we need not be extraordinary people to do remarkable things because if we look back at history and observe our world carefully today we can see that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

With that I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Conchita Tan-Willman, Mrs. Helen King, my teachers and most importantly, my family, for helping me with all of the endeavors in my life, and for helping me to learn true values and apply them effectively. I hope that I can continue to reach out and extend my own helping hands to future generations to come. Thank-you.

Sameeha Zaynab

 

Kathleen Wynne addressing the audience; John Bertram presiding

 

Good evening, mentors, principals and teachers, parents and protégés, friends and supporters, government officials, the PMC Board of Directors and advisors, and all attending guests.

My name is Helen Zhang and it's a great honour to be standing here today, to talk to you about my experiences with Prime Mentors of Canada.

When I first heard about Prime Mentors of Canada, I became deeply interested in it because of its fantastic concept, which allows a lot of creativity and also improves one's research, communication, problem-solving and leadership skills. I decided that I would like to give it a try. Now I am very grateful that I participated, for it was the right choice for me. Meeting my mentor, Dr. Matheson, was very exciting, and I was a bit worried, because I did not know what to expect, but I should not have been, because Dr. Matheson is one of the best mentors that a protégé can have! The project that we completed together gave me an opportunity to explore a subject that I am very interested in, consciousness and memory. During the time that I worked with Dr. Matheson, I learned much about my subject, but I also learned many other skills that are useful for our daily life. Although I didn't know anything about the subject at the outset, I was guided through the concepts from the basic to the advanced. It was an awesome learning experience, even though there were some setbacks and difficulties. The project presentation was very successful and I was invited to present it again at O'Connor Public School. With the more in-depth knowledge that I have gained through the project, I am now more interested in the subject than ever. It also motivated me to volunteer with the Alzheimer Society of Ontario last summer and I had an amazing time there. I plan to pursue a career as a neurologist because of the experience, and how it has added to my own appreciation of the importance of the healthy functioning of the brain. I would really like to thank Dr. Matheson very much for putting in the effort and the time in mentoring me on a subject that has always intrigued me.

Through Prime Mentors, I was introduced to The World Council. It allowed me to have the opportunity to look at the world we live in right now not through the eyes of a feeble individual, but as one of many great leaders that made great changes to the world by setting their minds to to the task. Through discussions with other fellow protégés, I realized the amount of work that needs to be done on our planet Earth. I also learned that being one person, I still have the strength to make a positive contribution to our world, like many heroes such as Craig Kielburger.

Overall, I think that Prime Mentors of Canada is a great and brilliant program that unites mentors and protégés, old and young, the skilled teacher and the new pupil to provide a wonderful learning opportunity, which makes a great positive impact in our lives. I am honoured to be a part of this and I would like to thank everyone, especially Dr. Matheson, and Professor Tan-Willman for providing this awesome experience for me that I will never forget in my life. Thank you all very much.

Helen Zhang

The Joy and Pride of Mentoring event took place in June, 2006