School News

Students and teachers reflect on school year

Posted

Baldwin High School held its 15th annual Mentor Recognition Dinner on June 9. Students thanked their mentors for helping guide them through their years in high school.

Mentors play an important role in students’ lives, as trusted counselors and guides, said Susan Knors, principal of Baldwin Senior High School. A mentor can be a teacher, role model, coach, voice of reason, emotional support, counselor or trusted resource, she added.

Mentors offer students guidance and advice. They listen, they inspire, they offer encouragement, they coach. They support and help develop leadership skills.

The evening opened with Knors giving special thanks to Jean Lahage Cohen, the executive director of the mentoring program. Cohen thanked the faculty for its commitment to mentoring and positively impacting the high school students.

“This is a room of unsung heroes, and because of them, we are all uplifted,” Knors said. “We cannot change a person, but we can be the reason a person changes.”

John Hershey, the district’s director of program development, said he was honored to celebrate mentoring relationships with a special group of kids. “Mentoring is just the start, not the end,” he said.

Hershey went on to explain to the students that they would continue to have mentors in college and throughout their careers.

Baldwin Superintendent Dr. Shari L. Camhi read a quote from Muhammad Ali: “Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

Emotion filled the room as mentors and mentees shared their experiences with one another. Jovanna Rodriguez, a graduating senior, thanked her mentor, Jana Trezza, for helping her through her high school journey, and said she cherishes their bond.

English teacher Nia Thompson wrote three poems about her mentees, Liana Dominique, Hallie Melo and Ahriana Chance. “Ms. Thompson is the queen of motivation,” Chance said.

“Ms. Thompson isn’t just an English teacher,” Melo said. “She is a role model and has taught many life lessons.”

Knors said she was very proud of her mentee, Miranda Hinton, and said Hinton never gave up hope when times were tough. In response, Hinton said, “Ms. Knors has inspired me and motivated me. She is not just a mentor, but has acted liked a mother to me.”

As the evening concluded, the mentors wished their mentees the best of luck in college and on their career paths, and ensured them that their doors would always be open to them.