Michelle Oakley- Mentor of the Year
Michelle has been a mentor just a little over a year. She has been a wonderful addition to our Generation One family! Michelle has been a faithful mentor to a teenage mentee. She does all the “normal” mentor stuff but is always doing extra. This includes helping her mentee get documentation, going to the eye doctor and getting glasses and more. Her mentee definitely knows that when she needs someone, she can count on Michelle, who has made a conscious effort to spend time with her mentee, while working full time at the hospital and being a full time wife. It’s also important to Michelle to show her mentee Jesus as much as she can. This past year the two of them attended several Beth Moore Bible Studies together. We are so thankful for the time that she invests in her mentee!
Nathanael Ince- Mentor of the Year
Nathanael has been a mentor with Generation One for a little over a year. He has a teenage mentee whom he has gotten to do a great deal of active things with. The two have spent some time with Nathanael’s family, throwing the football and eating dinner. Nathanael has taken his mentee to several Bible Studies, investing spiritually into his mentee. Through all of these extra activities, Nathanael has gained a lot of respect and trust from his mentee. When his mentee started going through hard times, Nathanael was the first person he called. Nathanael continues to support his mentee as both a friend and trustworthy adult. We are so thankful to have Nathanael serve with us, while his full time job requires him to travel a lot. We know his time is limited and valuable therefore we are thankful that he chooses to use some of that time to invest in his mentee.
Amanda Whaley- Tutor of the Year
Amanda has been tutoring with Generation One for well over a year now. She originally heard about the opportunity to tutor during an announcement at Ecclesia. Amanda has a great willingness to take on things and I’ve loved watching her interactions with the kids and the relationships that have formed over the past year. She is definitely been a great asset to have at tutoring and I appreciate all her hard work!!! Amanda has just begun to teach high school so I’m excited for the additional resources she is going to be able to bring in to tutoring as a professional teacher. My favorite thing I’ve observed about Amanda that is a true testament to what a beautiful impact she has made on these kids and how greatly they admire her, is how excited the kids get when they see her at church. They are so eager to get to run up to her and say hello and love on her. I value that about Amanda.
Kelley Benjamin- Generation One’s Volunteer of the Year
Kelley Benjamin has been volunteering with Generation One for almost 2 years now. One of her first experiences with us was as a camp counselor. She got matched with a very tough group and I honestly thought we may never see her again after camp. Quite the opposite happened. She immediately wanted to be matched up as a mentor and also began tutoring. Kelley is an incredibly involved mentor. Often times she stops by tutoring just to say hi to her mentee. Several months ago we approached Kelley about leading tutoring on a day in addition to the day she tutors. She immediately said yes and has been doing an awesome job ever since. As if that’s not enough, Kelley continuously donates supplies and snacks for the building and for tutoring. We are so thankful for Kelley and honored to name her Generation One’s Volunteer of the Year!
