Carlynton mentoring program bonds older students with younger

Briana Netzer-Smith looks forward to going to school these days.

Thanks to the new friend she made through Carlynton Junior/Senior High School’s mentoring program, she now has someone to talk with about everything that goes on in her life.

“She’s not judgmental, so I can basically talk to her about anything,” Briana, 12, said of high school senior Madison McMonagle, 18, who serves as her mentor but prefers to be called her friend.

Briana is one of almost 30 seventh-graders at Carlynton who are paired with an upperclassman through the school’s mentoring program. Younger students get guidance, a friend to talk to, and encouragement.

The mentoring program was launched seven years ago when seventh-grade teachers identified students who could benefit academically, emotionally or with decision-making by having someone to turn to, said program coordinators Pete Banaszak and Stef Barnes.

“It’s a bridge from the elementary school,” said Banaszak, a health and physical education teacher. “Some kids might have had difficulties adjusting.”

In the program’s early years, the seventh-graders, the youngest students in the school, were paired with teachers as their mentors.

Today, mentors are all upperclassmen, some of whom went through the program as seventh-graders and are now helping their younger peers.

Mentors and mentees are matched based on personality traits and are paired after the first nine weeks of school. The pairs meet once a week for a set time, but are encouraged to hang out throughout the week.

“It’s about being proactive, too,” said Barnes, a school counselor. “Sometimes you don’t see what bad decisions their mentor is preventing them from doing. ... I hope this gives them some confidence, just to make those decisions for them to do their best.”

Senior Dallas Paolino, 18, was one of the programs early success stories.

As a seventh-grader coming to Carlynton Junior/Senior High School from Crafton Elementary School, Dallas was focused on football and making friends. He admits he acted out to make more friends. He didn’t care about academics.

He credits his mentor and teacher Banaszak with making all the difference in his life.

“He preached that academics came first,” Dallas said.

Today, he’s a different person.

“I’m very respectful now. I’m more focused on my grades. I have a life plan. I know exactly what I want to do when I graduate,” said Dallas, who wants to go into real estate but hasn’t given up on the dream to keep playing football.

This year, he’s paired with seventh-grader O’Mari Gibbs, 13. The two have a common interest — football.

O’Mari likes to rap, so the two head to the sound studio at the school a few days a week to make music together.

“I see so much of myself in him,” Dallas said.

He’s hoping to guide O’Mari to make the right decisions in life.

“It helps me to use my strength on something important,” O’Mari said of his time with Dallas.

For seventh-grader David Lopez, 13, his mentor, senior Dakota Mayfield, 17, helps him focus on what matters academically.

The two say they are basically the same person. They like all of the same things and agree they’re the perfect mentor-mentee pair. They even finish each other’s sentences.

“We’re very vibrant. We’re very colorful,” David said.

“We’re outgoing, eccentric,” Dakota finished.

Many of the pairs have found similarities among themselves.

Senior Alexis Jones, 15, a sophomore, and Paris Lee, 12, a seventh-grader, are both athletic and prefer the same brand of shoes.

Seventh-grader Rayden Werner, 12, and senior Faith Aliano, 17, both enjoy video games and pizza.

Sophomore Michael Artascos, 15, and seventh-grader Jackson Garner, 13, both like “Star Wars,” video games, sports and even share the same taste in music.

Michael often stops by to visit Jackson in the hallway.

“Usually, he just pops out and I’m like ‘Yay! Someone to talk to,’ ” Jackson said.

While the youngsters get a lot out of the program, so do the older students.

“She guides me through life, too,” Madison said of her mentee, Briana. “I see her in the hallways and it makes me want to have a better day. It makes me want to be a better person because I know that I have someone to be there for and I know that I have someone that’s there for me.”