“A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself!”

Our Athletics Ambassador, Marilyn Okoro, has certainly enabled her incredibly aspirational Mintridge mentees from Sir Christopher Hatton Academy, to see the hope inside themselves as part of this brilliant Silver Mentoring Programme, which was kindly supported by The Sudborough Foundation.

“The programme has positively impacted me. With help from my mentor I learnt how to make a plan to optimise my time and help me set times to do revision for my exams, which is something I struggle with.”

Marilyn is an incredible role model for all young people and throughout this mentoring programme, has continually challenged her mentees to think big, to challenge perceptions and the views of those around them but to become educators and influencers, who can make the world a better place through their small but meaningful actions.

Marilyn has really worked on some key skills with her mentees, including their communication skills. One of the mentees said that the mentoring programme has helped her for the following reason, “I am a very passionate person so we found that it helped me to write my feelings down rather than bottling them up until one day I burst.”

Not only has Marilyn been supporting her mentees personally, during their programme they have also discussed goals and aspirations and what a future career may look like for the two mentees.

“During exam season, my mentor gave me advice on how to be calm and collective about it”

“I have always found myself to be a confident person, but the programme has certainly helped with getting rid of doubts and helped me be more determined…One day I wish to go to University and with the help of my mentor I got some really good recommendations that fit with what I want to do in the future.”

Marilyn’s mentees have spoken to her on a fortnightly basis about their own goals and ambitions but also about the changing environment at school, home or in the media. These conversations have sparked in-depth thoughts and feelings from both Marilyn and her mentees, which in turn has helped them to unpick ways to make those around them think differently or be more open-minded to the different troubles that people face.

This was particularly prevalent when Marilyn was speaking to her mentees about the Black Lives Matter movement and talking to them about their own thoughts and feelings when approaching people to talk about the topic. It has been really beneficial for the students to hear Marilyn’s views and also work through other people’s views on these calls together.

Marilyn’s mentees have also reflected on their journey and themselves and have taken away some key things from Marilyn that they want to use in their life going forward. One of the mentees said, they would like to, “always be myself and to always do what makes me happy. Whilst money will always be a factor in society you will never be happy if you don’t do the things you love.”

When asked about the main things they had taken from their programme, the mentees said this;

“Thank you for helping me understand my goals and giving me the determination to reach them. I appreciate it so so much.”

“I have learnt to improve my general communication as this is key to bringing peace, equality, love, respect and kindness to everyone, even those who don’t deserve it. I have also learnt to look at life positively and how I can benefit but also what I can do in my life.”

We have also received some feedback from Marilyn about her mentees which can also be seen below.

Marilyn’s Feedback about her mentees.

Mentee one has improved so much and during our journey, she learned to be more accepting of others and have more patience. She has strong ambitions to pursue a career in Politics and her top values are kindness, openness, respect and honesty. Success to her is changing the world and having an impact.

Mentee two has been on an incredible journey during this mentoring programme too and she has learned to be more considerate of others and compassionate and be open to trying new things. She is especially proud of the growth she has made in her studies, especially Maths with a huge improvement in her final exams. This mentees top values are peace, equality, empathy, which I really like. She has aspirations to become a medical lawyer or become an MP as she seeks to increase the visibility of people of colour in empowering positions in society 

We have really enjoyed following these two mentees on their mentoring journey and we know that they will go on to achieve great things in the future.

Thank you very much to the staff at Sir Christopher Hatton Academy for helping to organise this brilliant mentoring programme and to The Sudborough Foundation for supporting this very special Programme.

If you are interested in a virtual or physical Programme with Marilyn Okoro OLY or any of our other inspirational Ambassadors, then please get in touch via the Mintridge website at www.mintridgefoundation.org.uk or with Katie at katie@mintridge.org.uk.

#TeamMintridge

The Mintridge Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing life skills in young people through sport. We provide a support network for young people by harnessing the power of positive sporting role models. The Mintridge Foundation assists young people of all ages, abilities, and physical capabilities to develop confidence and resilience, and creates awareness of the importance of mental and physical wellbeing through sport.

Our team of Ambassadors - Olympians, Paralympians and other professional sports stars from over 20 sports, both team and individual - work with young people in schools, clubs and academies across the UK. Starting with visits including assemblies, coaching clinics and classroom sessions tailored to each organisation’s requirements, our ambassadors can then provide one- on- one remote mentoring in a safeguarded environment, delivered via technology such as FitSwarm and Playwaze to build a lasting legacy for individuals.

The Mintridge Foundation’s successes demonstrate the incredible power of sport; from a mentee’s selection to represent Great Britain in their chosen field to enabling disabled children to find confidence and happiness just through participation. Understanding life after sport, we also support our Ambassadors in their transition from active sport to the next stage of their careers.

To find out more about the Mintridge Foundation, please contact Alex Wallace.

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