Sus Amigos' Mentoring Program Honors Students, Employers
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Employers, educators and students gathered Tuesday to honor Sus Amigos Mentoring Program participants.
The banquet was sponsored by Zimmer, a Partner in Education with Warsaw Community High School. The mentoring program matches qualified Hispanic students with a job offered by employers. Sus Amigos hopes to encourage young Hispanic students to stay in school, make good grades, plan for their future and attend college.
This year, five WCHS juniors took part in the program. After working with a mentor-teacher to determine his or her interests, each student was matched to an employer in Warsaw. Tania Gomez works for Bowen Center and recently was nominated to the National Honor Society; Fanny Nunez works for the YMCA Jefferson Kids Club and has been nominated for the Indiana Girls State Award; Alexandra Patino is with the First Steps & Healthy Families programs at Cardinal Center; Jesus Ramirez works for Papa John's Pizza; and Mario Briseno works for Ace Hardware.
Darlene Fussle is an English as a Second Language instructor at Warsaw Community High School, and facilitates the mentoring program.
"It is amazing to witness the change in the students from the time they begin the program, to when they graduate. Their self-esteem and their belief in what they can achieve in life are totally empowered," she said.
Ray Monteith, one of the program's founders, said this empowerment is what they had in mind from the start.
"This success," he said, gesturing toward Grace College sophomore Ana Juarez, "is what the mentoring program is all about."
Juarez came to the United States as a small child, and explained to the crowd that while she went to public schools, she was raised in a Hispanic home where the culture was entirely different. Her discomfort with American culture led her to doubt her abilities. After enrolling in the Sus Amigos program where she found work at Lake City Bank, Juarez began to realize her potential. Hopes and plans for college and the future were close behind. Juarez was one of three mentoring program alumna attending Tuesday's luncheon. All now are making honors at Grace College.
Students wishing to participate in the mentoring program must have at least a 6.0 grade point average, good attendance and behavior records, three teacher references, bilingual abilities, the necessary documentation to obtain a work permit, and be willing to work at least 10 hours per week. According to Fussle, the program is certain to grow next year, because 13 students already have been referred to her for the coming year. [[In-content Ad]]
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Employers, educators and students gathered Tuesday to honor Sus Amigos Mentoring Program participants.
The banquet was sponsored by Zimmer, a Partner in Education with Warsaw Community High School. The mentoring program matches qualified Hispanic students with a job offered by employers. Sus Amigos hopes to encourage young Hispanic students to stay in school, make good grades, plan for their future and attend college.
This year, five WCHS juniors took part in the program. After working with a mentor-teacher to determine his or her interests, each student was matched to an employer in Warsaw. Tania Gomez works for Bowen Center and recently was nominated to the National Honor Society; Fanny Nunez works for the YMCA Jefferson Kids Club and has been nominated for the Indiana Girls State Award; Alexandra Patino is with the First Steps & Healthy Families programs at Cardinal Center; Jesus Ramirez works for Papa John's Pizza; and Mario Briseno works for Ace Hardware.
Darlene Fussle is an English as a Second Language instructor at Warsaw Community High School, and facilitates the mentoring program.
"It is amazing to witness the change in the students from the time they begin the program, to when they graduate. Their self-esteem and their belief in what they can achieve in life are totally empowered," she said.
Ray Monteith, one of the program's founders, said this empowerment is what they had in mind from the start.
"This success," he said, gesturing toward Grace College sophomore Ana Juarez, "is what the mentoring program is all about."
Juarez came to the United States as a small child, and explained to the crowd that while she went to public schools, she was raised in a Hispanic home where the culture was entirely different. Her discomfort with American culture led her to doubt her abilities. After enrolling in the Sus Amigos program where she found work at Lake City Bank, Juarez began to realize her potential. Hopes and plans for college and the future were close behind. Juarez was one of three mentoring program alumna attending Tuesday's luncheon. All now are making honors at Grace College.
Students wishing to participate in the mentoring program must have at least a 6.0 grade point average, good attendance and behavior records, three teacher references, bilingual abilities, the necessary documentation to obtain a work permit, and be willing to work at least 10 hours per week. According to Fussle, the program is certain to grow next year, because 13 students already have been referred to her for the coming year. [[In-content Ad]]