the other 29 days...

Blog readers and members of our Mentor Program are well-aware of the schedule: once a month all of the mentors and mentees get together for 168-person fun. In fact, our next Mentor Day is right around the corner! On November 14th we head to the bowling alley for some healthy competition and some less-than-healthy eating.

But the program does not begin and end on Mentor Days. Oh no. For most of our members, it is the monthly outings away from the program that make the relationship special. Check out some of these awesome outings:

Deja Edmundson (pictured above) and Allison Macbride (speaking)
"We took a trip to U street to do the walking tour. For the 11th grade DC history class Kathryn [Otrosina] had assigned a project on a DC neighborhood. Deja got U street. So, in the pouring rain, we did the whole walking tour. It took a few hours with a stop to Ben's Chili Bowl. She was really into it and we took LOTS
of pictures for the assignment. It is a cool area to walk around because it is so rich in African American history. Also, it was great to work on a project for school."

Marissa Monroe and Victoria Williams
The pair met for lunch and both were gushing the next day. Marissa had an absolute blast and Victoria reported: "I truly enjoyed lunch with Marissa this past Saturday. We have a lot in common, it’s a great match." Their next outing will be lunch together at the school!

Tamara Brown and Katie Shay
"Tamara and I had a great time on Sunday. Our original plan didn't work out, so I suggested a few alternatives to her and she chose to go to the Latin American Film Festival. I think the film was a little different than what she had expected, but it seemed like she had a good time. She told me that she liked listening to the Spanish and she could understand some of it."

Kiana Miller and Tara O'Hanlon
Tara is a law student at Georgetown and she invited Kiana over for some good old-fashioned pumpkin carving and cookie decorating. Kiana loved the idea of living in a dorm!

Evan Mabry and Brian Lee + Tyree Jones and Kevin Jenkins + Sequan Griffin and Tyler Hall = 3 on 3
These six got together for a small group outing in the new gym! They played basketball and got to know each other a little bit. Although Kevin claims he no longer plans to try out with the Wizards, I think after a few more games he may change his mind.

Ayana Bell (pictured below) and Natalia Seraia (speaking)
"Ayana and I had our first one-on-one meeting and it went great:) It was hard for us to get up early on Sunday morning after Halloween, but we did it! We had our Chocolate and Confections class in Anne Arundel Community College. In four hours we managed to make Pecan Butter Crunch, Chocolate Macademia Nut Fudge, Raspberry Ganache Squares in Chocolate and Chocolate Covered Candied Almonds. I do not think that we will be able to eat chocolate any time soon after Halloween and this class."

Ayana was great in the class, she learned how to melt and temper chocolate - not an easy task that takes a lot of attention to temperature and hard physical work (non-stop mixing). She made fudge, toffee and decorated raspberry ganache for everybody in the class. She also helped other students in the class with some prep work."

What an amazing set of first-month outings. Have an idea for (or an experience with) a Mentor-Mentee meeting? Let us know about it in the comment section below.