Proud to Be From Pittsburgh

Proud to be from Pittsburgh: 40 students graduate from first-ever 'Mentor 2.0' program

PITTSBURGH — This week brought a first-of-its-kind graduation at Pittsburgh's Brashear High School. Forty students who were part of the first ever "Mentor 2.0" program through Big Brothers Big Sisters of America crossed the stage as they graduated from the program.

"They came in as awkward freshmen, and they are now leaving as confident seniors with a lot of preparation and help from their mentors and guiding forces through these past four years," said Maggie Giel, with Big Brothers Big Sisters.

In the Mentor 2.0 program, community mentors were each paired with a Brashear High School student for a relationship that's spanned the last four years.

"Their mentors have helped them write resumes, apply to college, learn what a growth mindset is, and just being that guiding force for them the past four years," said Giel.

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For the mentors and mentees, the program has been life-changing.

"[My mentor] helped me just focus on my grades. I was just so focused on what was going on with drama and everything, and she helped me. She told me you need to focus on schoolwork and what you're going to do after school," said Kirsa Awkward, a graduate of the program.

Awkward is now focused on college, and will be attending Robert Morris University in the fall.

"Before this, I wasn't even thinking about college," said Awkward. "When I first came to school, I just thought about who's going to be my friends. But when we started this, I was like, school, school, school."

"I'm just really glad that I was able to help her work through that, think about where she wanted to go, what she wanted to major in, and beyond," said Kristian McCloud, Akward's mentor.

While the program is ending for Awkward and McCloud, the two say their relationship is far from over.

"She's kind of become like a little sister to me. I've loved having her open up to me over the past four years, even if it's beyond the career, the college, but also the personal things that she's opened up to me with as well," said McCloud.

The Mentor 2.0 program has already expanded, and in the 2018-2019 school year will have a total of 350 students and mentors. For more information about the program and how you can get involved, visit http://bbbspgh.org/.