THE IMPACT OF MENTORING
Janet & Makayla begin a new friendship and experience the IMPACT of discovering the individuals God created them to be.
Makayla (Kayla) balanced the rigors of her senior year at Fullerton High School when her aunt, Leilani, invited her and Kayla's younger sister, Cierra, to join IMPACT. Kayla felt that IMPACT would be a good way to see Cierra more often, so they decided to commit to IMPACT together.
A 12-week leadership development program, IMPACT, has been specifically designed for students to fight mediocrity & live boldly so they can discover the individuals God created them to be.
The opening session of IMPACT met at Anaheim Packing House where Janet and Kayla talked for the first time. Although complete strangers, the pair initially connected through a video scavenger hunt.
From that point on, Janet & Kayla’s mentoring relationship grew. Although the two had very different upbringings, IMPACT was a context to find connection. Inspired by Kayla's dedication, Janet shared, “She is a motivated teen with so many interests and passions. Even though we have different backgrounds, I identified with that side of her and was drawn to it.”
IMPACT is thriving in the Solidarity communities because it teaches students to set goals and allows mentors to coach them and fulfill those goals. Kayla chose two goals: (1) to connect with her mother more often and (2) get a 3.5 GPA.
Both Kayla & Janet worked together see these two goals come to fruition. As they pushed forward, unseen challenges arose. It was tough for Kayla to meet weekly with her mom. Janet was privileged enough to pray and encourage Kayla in these times. Kayla shared, “Although it was tough at moments, it felt really good to accomplish the goal of meeting with my mom,” she continued, “Janet would text me to check up and see if I was meeting with my mom and when we’d meet up she would motivate me to meet my goals.”
One of the bigger wins of Kayla’s mentoring was that she surpassed her second goal! For the first time in her life, Kayla got a 3.6 GPA. She was so excited to share the news with both her mom and Janet. Kayla is now looking forward to going to the Oaks winter camp and completing level 1 of IMPACT so she can go to Yosemite Sierra Summer Camp.
After the IMPACT session came to a close, Janet shared, “Being a part of IMPACT allows me - as a part of the greater Church – the privilege of seeing His Kingdom in this broken world. I got to be a small part of the change and be an extension of love and grace in my neighborhood.”
Both Janet & Makayla have been blessed by the relationship that has formed in the past six months. They can point to one another and see how God has used the other to help shape them into the women God has created them to be.