By Philip Addison Trenton Central class of 2000. He has since graduated from Annapolis, is married and serving as an officer in the Navy. 

     Through my three years as an EnvironMentors mentee, I have learned and experienced many things and met many people.  The EnvironMentors Project has been invaluable to me for many reasons.  The summer programs I attended through EnvironMentors opened my eyes to things I might never have experienced.  The people I met through the program, students and adults have provided limitless advice and support.  The projects that I have worked on brought out determination I never thought I possessed.  Yet, it does not end there.  The three years I spent in the program showed me a side of myself that I did not think I had.
     I entered the program in my sophomore year in high school.  I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.  Reflecting back, I now know saying that it didn’t hurt is an understatement.  My first year in the EnvironMentors project saw a big improvement in my maturity level.  This was in part because I was no longer being though of as, and treated as, a child but instead as the young adult that I am.  The program helped boost my maturity level by allowing me to work almost independently.  This showed me that if my project did not turn out the way I wanted it to, I was the only person to blame.  So, I matured and did what I had to do.  Now I have graduated high school, and I am much more mature than I was when I entered the program in my sophomore year.

By Taron Moses – Trenton Central High School graduate 2005 – presently studying in the PSE &G Engineering Program at Mercer County Community College

     All my life I was told undoubtingly I would be part of this number  sooner or later, more so as an adolescent, although I never believed such a thing.  As years went by I began to see the growing number of faces become numbers.  As much as it hurt to see my friends transform before my eyes, I had to let each one go one by one.  Seeing some who I thought were just like me fall into the records was the worst.  I vowed never to end up that way.  Not being alone in my endeavors, I always kept a close eye on those who shared my same interest of escaping the numbers.  Taking hold of my opportunities such as the Princeton Preparatory Program and Mentor Power have given me the needed energy to push on and succeed and in knowing this, these numbers don’t seem as big compared to me. 

 By Miracle Pygum  Trenton Central High class of 2008

      I am Miracle Pygum. Mentor Power has helped me in a lot of ways. Mainly, it has played a major role as a safe house! Mentor Power has kept me out of trouble and off the streets. They (mentor power staff) helped me get a summer internship at ETS (Education Testing Services) and during the school year they helped me with everything and anything I needed help with. They were always there!

 Anthony is the TCHS class of 2004  (at this moment he is at the summer science research program in Stanford - Last year he interned with Disney – the year before he interned at Stonybrook Watershed_

      My name is Anthony Diggs; I will be a junior in the fall at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. My chosen field of study is biology-science. I plan to get a bachelor in biology and then attend a school of optometry. I am writing because, as a former mentee and continuous friend of the MentorPower program, I would like to expand on how Mentor Power has benefited me in all aspects of my life, particularly academics.
     I had a vision, a vision of being a doctor, but that vision was becoming blurry, considering that I had no one to show me the way. Even though I had my family members to look up to, we all were new to the American way of life. It was like a blind man leading a blind man.

So one day, when my cousin told me about MentorPower, I knew it too was an opportunity of a lifetime. I was told by my cousin that the program was a science based program where students were assigned a mentor to work on a science project. Coming into the program, I did not know anything about the American system of education, I did not know that things as racism existed. My level of speech was below average, and the education I received back in my native country was nothing compared to the one I was receiving in school. I started to struggle in both social life and academics. My dad left home, so I did not have any male figure to look up to.  Being that my accent was heavy, and no one understood me, I kept everything to myself.

     My first year I was assigned a mentor . Unlike me, he was not a shy or quiet guy; he spoke his mind and told you if you did something wrong. I began to notice that most children in MentorPower came from a background of poverty and bad neighborhoods. I never thought in my wildest imagination that poverty existed in America. I also started to notice that MentorPower was more than a science program; it was a life saver for most children, a peaceful place where inner city children could come after school without worrying about shooting or fighting. For me it was and still is the eyes that navigate me on the path to my goal.

     MentorPower is not just an average program, or a program that is all about science and nothing else. The people of MentorPower are anxious to see children like me succeed  - children from a hopeless background, a background of poverty and war, and other children who have heard all through their life that they would be nothing in life because of their skin color or because they were born in the ghetto. This is what MentorPower is about, this is what keeps them going each and every day, this is the reason why they wake every morning. They take hope and give it to the hopeless children, and they take inner city children and transform them into productive members and scholars of society, unlike how they are perceived on television.  

By Jonathen Frink - Lawrence High Class of 2006 – Will attend Wiley College in Texas in 2006

     I’m Johnathen Frink, and I am a sophomore at Lawrence High School.  I’ve been with MentorPower for two years.  MentorPower has helped me become a better person.  This program has made me understand and realize how important a mentor is when going through life decisions.

     The program is full of positive energy and the excitement of working with peers as well as adults.  This program has made me a more dependable and responsible person, and I highly appreciate that.

Thank You!

By Shaneeka Ingram Trenton Central High  class of 2006 – Will attend Johnson Wales University in Rhode Island Sept. 2006

     My name is Shaneeka Ingram, and I am a student at Trenton Central High School and a part of a mentoring program called MentorPower. I am writing you this letter to ask if you would let us broadcast information about our program on the radio so we can get more supporters to help us keep the program up and running. I have been in the MentorPower program for 2 years now and it has helped me drastically. When I first came into this program I was bright, but very shy. I did not have many opportunities going for me because I needed a lot of help expressing myself. Since I have been in this program, I have learned how to express my thoughts exactly how I want them to be heard, I only succeeded in that because of my mentor. She took time with me and helped me see that I was going to be a successful young lady and that many opportunities will open up for me in the future.

     This program also helps me develop my academics skills especially in science. Through this program I came up with a project idea that can relate to school and to your environment around you. My project was “ The Study of Macro-Invertebrates to Determine Water Quality.” The 2 things I learned from this project was that it is a lot of harmful bugs in the water that can help you determine whether you can drink the water or not. I also learned that you really have to be careful about what you drink. With this program open, many urban students can get help to accelerate in academics and to get to know their environment better. It gives students the chance to broaden their world and have opportunities they may never have otherwise.

     If you let us broadcast our program on the radio maybe people a lot of people would be excited to hear about this program and will donate their time as mentors or donate money to keep MentorPower doors open for the area youth. Think you for your time

By Dana Davis  Lawrence High School class of 2007

Dear Supporter,

     I am Dana Davis and I am a participating member in Mentor Power. I have been enrolled in the program for the last two years. Participating in Mentor Power allowed me to learn about any topic that I chose and relate it to science. Not only did I gain knowledge, I experienced new people, and found a creative spark that I never knew I had. Your donations to Mentor Power will not only profit me as a participant but the community as we as a group learns new things to share with Mercer County’s young elementary students.

By Jeff Wu – Princeton High School Class of 1999 – graduate of Cornell University – honors 2004

     My involvement in The EnvironMentors Project exposed me to a different side of society.  Part of The EnvironMentors Project included working with students from other cities.  Several students from Trenton High School participated in this program which allowed me to interact with students from a different community.  After conversing with these students, whether it was in a lab, at the EnvironMentors Fair, or just socializing with them at a meeting, I learned that they are no different from the other students at Princeton High School.  They put as much effort into reaching their goals as other people do.  This completely changed the way I viewed that part of society.  The impression they left on me is that if you have a goal, it does not matter what color skin you have or what race you are, but how hard you try to reach that goal. 

     I originally joined the EnvironMentors Project to fulfill the Career Awareness/Community Service requirement at Princeton High School.  At first, I viewed this program as another class I had to take in order to graduate high school.  After several meetings with my mentor where we discussed our project and did some field work, I began to enjoy what I was learning.  My mentor took me to the EPA where I learned how to use highly expensive equipment to analyze my water samples.  I initially thought school was a waste of time, but now, I see how important an education is.  The New Jersey EnvironMentors Project made me want to strive even harder to do well in school so that I can receive a college education that will help me succeed in life.