A New Vehicle for Mentoring
Sometimes a Chance to Teach about Generosity Hides behind a Little Rust

September 7, 2010 – Some months ago, Starfish mentor Jerry bought an old car with some serious problems and a black and blue body. Literally. He asked his Scholar, Brandon, to help him work on it. Jerry is a bus mechanic and together they replaced the transmission and many of the engine parts. Finally, when the car was road-worthy – a mighty 1999 Chevy Cavalier – Jerry had the whole thing repainted classic, glossy black.

Not many teenaged boys are fans of lengthy, deep conversation, and Brandon doesn’t buck that trend. So refurbishing a car offered a way to mentor without words. It was a way to comfortably interact with a teenager without a lot of talking, a way to teach Brandon more about auto mechanics and repair, to expose him to Jerry’s occupation, to symbolize commitment and seeing a project through to its end, and a way to be together. Car repair taught Brandon many valuable lessons.

On Brandon’s 16th birthday, Jerry drove the car into Brandon’s driveway and slapped a bow on it. Brandon (as usual) was speechless, but right away, “I thought about being able to drive home from football and basketball practice without waiting,” he said.

“He stayed cool. He’s just ‘too cool,’ you know?” Jerry laughs. “Very laid back. But he was tickled about it. I could tell.”

In an instant, when Brandon saw that car in his driveway, Jerry taught him a thousand other lessons without saying a word. He taught Brandon that trusting other people pays off, that there is no limit to the forms generosity assumes, and that hard work and dedication sometimes have unexpected rewards, so keep plugging away.

Jerry, of course, doesn’t think he has done anything unusual or special.

Mentors give their Scholars as many different kinds of gifts as there are mentor/Scholar pairs. Each is different. But somehow, someway, mentors figure out what their Scholar needs, and find a way to fill those needs. It may be exposure to other colleges. It may be a few lessons in etiquette. It may be a shoelace at a leadership camp.

But it takes a pretty clever mentor to see the potential in a rusty old car.