New lunchtime mentor program at high school

During a recent lunch break, Alex Eddy, 15, outlined the kind of life he'd like to have.

With the help of Chris Greenman, he analyzed how much money he'd need to maintain his desired lifestyle. They concluded he'd need an annual salary of around $50,000, and to do that, he'd have to earn at least a bachelor's degree.

"I think it's important these kids get a sense of reality in a non-judgmental way," Greenman said. "They need to be able to look at the future without somebody being preachy or jumping down their throats."

Greenman is one of about a dozen volunteers working in a pilot program through the Mentor Center of Western Nevada. Mentors are paired with Carson High School freshmen who are struggling with their grades or home life, and they meet every Friday at lunch.

Kyle Brown, 14, admits he was a little wary going into the program.

"It was just kind of a gamble," he said. "You didn't know who you were going to be paired up with."

But now he looks forward to Fridays with his mentor, Rick Waltz.

"He's somebody I can talk to about how the week's going on, what's going on," Brown said. "We talk about sports, careers, life in general pretty much."

The program was organized by Skyler Greenman, 15, as his Eagle Scout project. Many of the volunteers are from his church, the Hot Springs Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"It helps kids out and gets community members involved," he said.

Ruth Gordon, Mentor Center director, said she would like to see these mentoring partnerships continue through the students' high school years and add more freshmen and mentors each year.

"We've never done anything like this before," she said. "It's amazing. The lights have been going on in these kids."

School counselor Mandy Chambers said she'd also like to see the program continue.

"It's that consistency of knowing the adults are going to be here on Friday," she said. "That means a lot to them."

And it means a lot to the mentors.

"I really look forward to Fridays," said volunteer Terry Whitmer. "Being with the youth makes you feel young. You see the things they're going through and you've been there, done that. Hopefully you can give them some encouragement and support. We all need all the help we can get."