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Overcast An ever-lasting bond for students, teachers
High school mentoring program takes center stage
When Pat Banhazl established a mentoring program at Baldwin High School 14 years ago there wasn’t much to it: five teachers and five students who worked together and built positive relationships.
Since that time, though, thousands of students have taken part in the program along with hundreds of educators, building one of the school district’s most prized features.
To commemorate the more than 150 mentor-mentee pairs this year, the 14th annual Mentoring Recognition Dinner was held on June 11 inside the high school gymnasium. Banhazl, the school-to-career coordinator at BHS, and Helen Kanellopoulos, a special education teacher, coordinate the esteemed program.
A handful of students and teachers discussed what makes their mentor-mentee pair so special during the event, including senior Genesis Martinez-Lopez and Anita Zucker, a social studies teacher.
When Martinez-Lopez decided to take a trip to El Salvador to help people in need she was concerned that her teachers would be upset with her missing class. The opposite was true with Zucker, Martinez-Lopez said, as Zucker offered to spend extra time with her when she returned to help her catch up. Zucker also donated a bag of clothes for Martinez-Lopez to bring to El Salvador.
Like many seniors, Martinez-Lopez said she has been nervous about starting college in the fall. It’s been her relationship with Zucker, though, that’s helped her through this time. “Ms. Zucker has made my life a lot less stressful,” she said. “She’s been my rock and my light.”
Zucker said she will miss the notes Martinez-Lopez leaves on her black board when she’s elsewhere and the vibrant energy she brings to the BHS hallways each day. “While I know it’s time for Genesis to spread her wings to the best four years of her life,” Zucker said, “I will truly miss seeing her each day.”
Senior Miles Leon was assigned special education teacher Hope Cahn as his mentor in ninth grade. Over the four years the two have known each other, they’ve become close friends. Cahn has invited Leon and his brothers to her home to meet her family, which was a gesture Leon said he appreciated immensely.
