Waiting for a Mentor

BY JOAN THARP

For 15-year-old Luis, having a mentor means "you get to see another side of life and have good conversation." Luis is pictured here with his mentor, Gonzalo Alvarado. Photos by L.A. Cicero

SUMMER 2005 -- Fifteen-year-old Luis waited nearly a year for a mentor through Friends for Youth. Finally, at the end of March, the right mentor came along: Gonzalo Alvarado, a young Latino man who shares Luis' interests in the San Francisco Giants.

Why is a mentor important to him? "It's someone you can talk to when you can't talk to your parents or your friends, someone you trust and who will be there for you and help you if you need help. And you get to see another side of life and have good conversation," he explains.

The Menlo Park teen, who was referred to Friends for Youth after a wave of domestic violence washed over his family, says he was anxious about whether he and Gonzalo would like each other. After two meetings, Luis says he thinks they'll get along great. And at last, Luis can join the other kids and their mentors at the next Friends for Youth outing to Great America.