Twenty years ago, I was a junior in high school anticipating the next chapters of my life and what I thought would soon be my entrance into adulthood.
Little did I know, millennials would be the generation of delayed adulthood. But back in 2003, I was looking to where I might go to college and anticipating my all important Counselor in Training Summer at Camp Newman in Santa Rosa. The adults in my life were teachers, my parents and their friends, and a handful of 20-somethings, who staffed youth group programming and the summer camp I attended. These were to people who gave me my first glimpse of mentorship and who showed me how to connect beyond my peer group.
Intergenerational connection has remained an important part of my life. Since making San Mateo my home in 2016, I have been fortunate to have mentored two young women in our community, each of whom I met through local political activism and organizing. Personally, it feels not so long ago (although perhaps now it is) that I found myself a teenage girl seemingly at odds with my parents on every issue. Looking back, I know that trusted adults kept me safe and guided me when a parental voice was not always so easy to hear. Life is made sweeter and richer through deep connections. Establishing such relationships and investing in our youth is not only a meaningful calling, but these connections build our future toward progress at a time when it is desperately needed.
As we look to graduations and the start of summer, I am reminded of the great Joni Mitchell singing about the seasons, “they go round and round,” and left to wonder how we can bridge ourselves and our peers across differences here in San Mateo. Lauren and Michelle, my two mentees are about to graduate from high school and college, respectively. I am finding myself both nostalgic for those past moments in my life and thrilled for their futures.
In a time where divisiveness is all too present both in our national and now local discourse, I have found dedicating my time as a mentor to be a bright spot, among a gloomy backdrop. As we struggle to reclaim the San Mateo Way, I ask everyone reading this paper, what are you doing to set an example, to be a role model and set our city back on course?
One of my political mentors often says that you know where someone is going based on where they have been. And thinking about who is lifting you up and who you are lifting up is so key to a substantive journey personally and professionally. Think about the intern in your office or the junior staffer you just hired, the young person at your house of worship or who you have played tennis with a few times. Formal mentorship matching programs are out there as well, but consider yourself as a role model and the benefits will be beyond yourself and tremendous for our community.
Sarah Fields is the director of Community Engagement and Public Affairs for LifeMoves, the largest homeless services provider in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. She serves on the San Mateo Parks and Recreation Commission as well as the Peninsula Multifaith Coalition’s Board of Directors. The views expressed are her own.
Thank you for this important and true perspective. I have mentored and been a mentee many times. Both invaluable, growing opportunities that everyone should experience.
Thank you Sarah! I have mentored and been mentored through out my life. Mentoring is an important role for adults to pass on lessons in life to those beginning to move into adulthood.
Thank you!! One of the most important developmental assets young people can have is a healthy relationship with a trusted adult in addition to their parents or guardians. As someone who has been part of a faith community for over 30 years I've enjoyed the blessing of being one of those trusted adults in several young people's lives. With fewer people participating in faith communities we need to find more and more ways for those safe, healthy relationships to be forged. The other day at a Chamber of Commerce mixer one great way I learned about was team sports like soccer when a local referee/coach told me about scholarship opportunities for AYSO. Thanks also for your work with LifeMoves! So excited to see the navigation center open this month.
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(3) comments
Thank you for this important and true perspective. I have mentored and been a mentee many times. Both invaluable, growing opportunities that everyone should experience.
Thank you Sarah! I have mentored and been mentored through out my life. Mentoring is an important role for adults to pass on lessons in life to those beginning to move into adulthood.
Thank you!! One of the most important developmental assets young people can have is a healthy relationship with a trusted adult in addition to their parents or guardians. As someone who has been part of a faith community for over 30 years I've enjoyed the blessing of being one of those trusted adults in several young people's lives. With fewer people participating in faith communities we need to find more and more ways for those safe, healthy relationships to be forged. The other day at a Chamber of Commerce mixer one great way I learned about was team sports like soccer when a local referee/coach told me about scholarship opportunities for AYSO. Thanks also for your work with LifeMoves! So excited to see the navigation center open this month.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.