At BCYMP we know that both mentors and mentees learn and grow from the mentor/mentee relationship. A mentor that knows and spreads that message is BCYMP’s JYMC and Recruitment Intern, McKinley Lain. In addition to his responsibilities as an intern at BCYMP, McKinley has mentored with BCYMP for 2 years. McKinley applied to mentor with BCYMP because he wanted to be able to be a role model for youth and to grow in his ability to understand and appreciate other people’s personalities and way of life. McKinley had also been a mentor in high school, so it was important to him that he continue mentoring while he attended college.
McKinley and his mentee have flown airplanes together, they enjoy skateboarding, reading, getting hot chocolate, and doing experiments. One of McKinley’s favorite memories with his mentee is when his mentee taught him and helped him go down a skateboard ramp. Both McKinley and his mentee enjoyed the opportunity for his mentee to teach and help him. When it comes to planning things to do with his mentee, McKinley says it is important to remain open minded and willing to play and try new things. To McKinley, the most rewarding parts of being a mentor is when his mentee overcomes a challenge, gives him ideas about what they could learn together, or when his mentee reached out and asked McKinley to help him become a better reader. The most surprising part of being a mentor? “How exhausting and energizing it is at the same time”. And to those thinking of becoming a mentor, McKinley says, “Do it. It’s incredible how much you can learn from someone who seems to have so much less experience, and the relationship can’t be choreographed, but you’ll always end up discovering something new”.
