This National Mentoring Month, we’re putting the spotlight on all things Mpower to show the impact mentoring has on our youth. The Mpower program features adult mentors, who might be working or retired professionals; near mentors, who are often university students; and finally, peer mentors, who engage with students around their grade level in high school.

Connor Voorhees is one such peer mentor. In our interview, he shared his experiences as a mentee through Mpower, the trememdous influence his mentor had on him, and finally, his philosophy for being an unforgettable mentor.

SAMUEL MCLAUGHLIN: Connor, as I understand it, you are going to be a mentor this year and you’ve been a mentee before.

CONNOR VOORHEES: Yes, last year I was a mentee. It was the first year our school did the [Mpower] program, and I saw the opportunity and thought, “I need some guidance from somebody older than me, that I know as well, to give me that push to think more about what I wanted to do with my future.”

You were a junior when you got into the program, and you’re a senior now at Lakeside High School in Nine Mile. What else is there to know about you, as a student or as a person?

As a student, I’m a little bit more laid back than most, probably more than I should be—missing assignments every now and again. But I enjoy my school time,  even if some of it may not be the most entertaining.

As a person, I would say I’m honest. If I want you to know something, I’ll tell you face-to-face. I don’t like sugar coating things because I don’t want to give anybody the wrong idea of what I’m saying. It might not be what they want to hear, but it’s what they need to hear, and that’s what people have to have the most.

It sounds like you’re about learning over strictly chasing grades—and you’re combining that with an intentional approach at the same time. Is that something you learned from your own experiences, or from people who modeled it in your life?

From my own experiences, actually. I try to learn no matter what is going on, but not to the point where I’m stressing over it and it changes who I am as a person. There are things I do want to change, but as a whole, I don’t want to change myself. I like who I am.

The biggest influence to bring me in this direction was my mentor. [The program] was a little rocky because it was the first year our school had gone through [Mpower].

My mentor was a huge help to me. He would talk to me during a class I had with him [and] after school. Sometimes I would hang out with him, and we would just talk about our futures. That was so valuable to me.

That’s wonderful. Do you all keep in touch?

I still talk to him. He’s a good friend of mine. I cannot remember the college, but he’s out of state [studying], so he visits every now and again. I’m proud of him.

That’s such a cool, positive cycle. He inspired you as a mentee and to become a mentor yourself.

Exactly that.

That’s great. Is there anything else you want to share about your mentee experience?

My mentee experience, like I said, was a little rocky. But for the most part, I found myself feeling more open as I began to talk to this person that I never really talked to [before]. He was only a grade above [me], so I felt like I could relate to him more—like, my guidance counselor, I love her, but there are just some things I can’t talk to her about. But my mentor was super down-to-earth and wanted to have a conversation with you. It was easy to let my feelings out, let my frustrations be heard by someone who can relate.

How did you feel about mentoring conceptually before you got into it?

I joined it because my school counselor urged me to. She said it’d be a good experience for me, but I almost missed the first meeting because I completely forgot about it. It wasn’t up there in my priorities. But she pulled me out of class, I went to my first meeting, and I met so many people in the program, especially the seniors, who inspired me.

They knew what they wanted, and all of us [juniors] had no idea what we wanted. So, the guidance was there. We were all in a similar situation: not super interested at the start, but then we got into the guts of it, and slowly, those meetings became my favorite parts of the month. It was really important.

Now that we’re moving to our second year of Mpower, too, I expect we’ll have even more stories like yours with experienced peer mentors, like you, who’ve been through the program and can speak to what makes it special. Speaking of, what are you looking forward to as an Mpower mentor this year?

I joke about it, but I was planning on giving my mentee homework [laughs]. There were some sheets given to us during our Mpower orientation meeting up by Gonzaga, and those were helpful. I was gonna photocopy those and give them to him as homework.

It’s funny to give my underclassmen homework. It’s really funny. But more than that, I think those sheets [were] so helpful to figure out what type of mentor I want to be, what type of person I want to be.

Why do you think mentoring is important for a high schooler?

Once a high schooler reaches a certain age, it hits them– like, “Oh, wow, I have to be an adult soon.”  And when you’re going through that, parents can be helpful, but it’s hard because they’re going to have a different view on it since they’ve been adults so long.

I’m not trying to diss adults or anything like that, but they didn’t have it as financially difficult as we do now. Inflation and other societal factors make it more difficult [to start out as an adult]. Right now, it’s around $1400 to $1600 just to live in an apartment in Spokane, and that could even be renting with somebody. Rent’s expensive and a lot of places don’t pay for utilities, so you have to pay those, too. But you don’t realize that until you’re actually in there and you don’t have any power.

Having guidance from somebody that is [currently] going into that situation and knows what they’re gonna do is a lot fundamentally better than asking someone who is not currently going through that. [Adults] are not going through the stress and genuine fear of becoming an adult for the first time, because they’ve been through it and it’s different for us.

Sure. I remember when I was a couple years younger, my uncle would tell me, “Oh, if you want to get a job, just go hand out paper resumes.” That doesn’t work anymore, and it hasn’t worked in more than a decade. They mean well, but yeah, you’re right: it’s nice to have someone who is closer to your age, who’s walking that path or has walked it, and can give you a heads-up.

 What do you think are the qualities of a good mentor?

You must be able to take an assertive role. Some of these kids going to be quiet, some might not want to listen to what you say. So, even though you don’t want to, you have to be able to sit them down and tell it to them straight.

Assertiveness is good, and leadership is so important as a mentor. You’re not just setting the example for yourself and your mentee, you’re setting an example for other mentees and mentors.

What do you want the impact on your mentee to be?

That’s a tough one. Of course, as cliche as it sounds, I want him to be successful. I want him to have that knowledge to decide where he wants to go in his life.  I want him to remember me and the impact that I made on him– because I’ve never forgotten my mentor. He was such a huge influence in my junior life that it’d be difficult to forget him.

I think if my mentee forgot who I was and the things I told them, I would consider that a failure. I need these lessons to stick in their hearts and minds, because that’s what’s going to get them through their adult life.

What profession are you thinking of going into?

I’m going to be a police officer.

My mentor taught me to not have everything fully planned out, because some factors might change, but to have a plan or have a destination and get there. So, my destination right now is the police academy.

After I do two years of community college to get my associate’s degree, I will go into the police academy, get my license to be a police officer. Since I’ll have the associate’s degree, I will be one step ahead of everybody else that’s gone in who doesn’t have that. After that, I’m going to get my bachelor’s degree so I can climb higher and higher in the ranks.

Any idea what the bachelor’s degree is going to be?

I want it to be in criminal justice. I’m still a little iffy on where I want to go into the police business. I’m not sure if I want to be a detective, a sheriff, or in forensics yet.

Get down the path, make that choice when you get there. It sounds like you have it very sketched out, very prepared.

Let’s close out with something easy. What’s your favorite mentoring moment that you’ve had?

My mentor and I had this project in our engineering classes. We were making these cardboard vehicles that we were gonna drive around the track. Our idea was a little tricycle (which didn’t work). It was unfortunate, but we almost won though!

[My mentor] would always come over and bother me while I was working.  He would ask me quick questions like, “Where are you gonna go to college?” Or just small things that’d distract me but also get it going in my brain. I didn’t realize what he was doing or if it was intentional, but I started to associate my working with my hands, which is my best trait, with all the questions he was asking me.

That’s my favorite memory.

That’s really cool. Well, I have chatted your ear off enough, but thank you for coming in. It was great to meet you, and we’re happy to have you in Mpower.

I love the program and everything. It means a lot to me.