On Friday, April 1, 25 students from Hopkins Elementary had the opportunity to attend a double-header matchup between the University of Houston-Victoria (UHV) softball team and the Texas A&M University-Texarkana softball team as part of the Hopkins Mentor Connect program.
The Hopkins Mentor Connect program is a program run by Hopkins Elementary with the UHV softball team, serving as a chance for mentors to connect with students throughout each school year and summer, displaying encouragement, tutoring and helping them gain confidence in their work.
“My favorite part of this mentorship is the kids,” said Ashley Reyna, first baseman and graduate student in Educational Leadership (Administration and Supervision). “You see them at the beginning of the year, and seeing them grow over just a few months of doing this is such a great rewarding thing to see. Not only are you growing to get to know these kids, but you’re also seeing them grow as individuals to be good people, good students and good citizens overall in the community.”
The partnership, reaching the end of its 13th year, has adopted a hybrid model since the pandemic. With both in-person and virtual opportunities to meet, students and their mentors work on vocabulary, definitions, reading and sight words.
This game was the first chance for the students to meet their mentor for this year in person. Mentees were able to join their mentor on the field for the national anthem and watch them in action on the field.
Janaya Williams, a student at Hopkins, said her favorite part of the mentor program is reading with her mentor. She has read Franklin in the Dark, Biscuit Takes it Back and Clifford the Snow Dog with her mentor. Williams stated she’d like to be a mentor as well when she grows up.