By Rhys Baker
Counselors from USD 379 Clay County Schools have started the Teammates mentoring program at elementary schools in Clay Center. The program was created by former Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy, as twenty-two college football players began meeting with middle school students in Lincoln Public Schools. Of the 22 original mentees, 21 went on to graduate from high school, while one left school early to pursue a successful Motocross career.
Mentor and Teammates board member Jess Borgerding says the program’s goal is to positively impact the World by inspiring students to reach their full potential through mentoring. She adds that Year One in Clay Center Schools exceeded expectations, “We were hoping last year that we would end the year with 30 matches. Well, we doubled that with 60 matches, although I’m not 100% sure what those numbers are this year because I know we’ve had some students move. We didn’t do anything extravagant for recruiting mentees; we just had someone from headquarters come and do pep rallies.”
In USD 379, The program initially targeted third through eighth-grade students in Clay Center and hopes to expand to Clay Center Community and Wakefield High Schools this school year. Borgerding recently went to a Teammates conference in Nebraska to become a certified mentor trainer, and learn more about the Teammates program. The program has not had any recruitment events this year because students are waiting for mentors; most of those students are male. She says, “We have just over 25 kids who want a mentor who do not have one, and I’m hoping that because we have so many mentors who did show up, they will talk to their friends and tell them the commitment is 30 minutes, once a week, at the mentee’s school. So if you miss a week, you just let the school know because kids get sick, people get sick, and you have vacations planned. But 30 quality minutes is all we want from people.”
Teammates hosted a kickoff event on August 22, where mentors met mentees and their families. This was the first event of its kind, as mentors and mentees typically meet in the student’s school during the school day. The program is funded by Clay Counts, who paid the start-up and yearly fees for mentor screenings, support, and other miscellaneous costs.
