Norma Baker honored as Stanislaus County Mentor of the Year for 2009.
A California Girl! My family followed construction. As a result, I was in a new school twice a year having to make new friends and follow a different school curriculum each time. I realize now that if I had a mentor, learning would have been a lot easier. Children struggle, some children more than others. I thought the program worthy of a look see and I fell in love with the good work the Stanislaus Mentor program is doing. It is like a healthy virus. It is spreading and it is something to be proud of. We are helping a lot of good children develop reading skills beyond their imagination. We are opening up new worlds with them and giving them hope for a future.
Sharon Andrews honored as Site Coordinator of 2009.
Born and raised in Belvidere, Illinois, where my Kentucky Grandmother mentored me for the first 16 years of my life. She taught me to cook, crochet, make sweet tea and how to persevere with grace, since she'd been through two world wars and the depression. I moved to Scottsdale, Arizona 1978. There were 2 teachers in my high school who mentored me. Mrs. Bixby and Mrs. Marquardt who encouraged my creativity in writing. I became a page editor for the high school newspaper and received the Phoenix Pressbox scholarship for my writing. I moved to Modesto in 1998, employed by the County in 1999. I became Mentoring Coordinator in 2004 and began participating in the AIM program in 2008. Mentoring to me means paying forward the inspiration and encouragement I received, and which I have never forgotten. I still hope to write a best-seller!
