Winning Futures – Inspiring and preparing youth to succeed through mentoring.

As much as I gave to my mentees through mentoring, I received even more.  When you know you have people who look up to you, you hold yourself to a higher standard.  It has always been my belief that a person should lead by example, and the more I encouraged my students to take responsibility for their work, strengthen their relationships with family and friends, and give back to the community, the more I found myself improving those areas in my life as well.  The more I listened to them and their concerns, the better listener I became to everyone else around me.  As I watched them pursuing their goals with more passion each week, the more passionately I pursued my own.

I cannot fully express just how rewarding the experience has been for me.  As a mentor, not only was I able to have a positive influence on three young men and become a role model in their lives, but also (quite unexpectedly) they had a positive influence on my life and became role models for me as well.

Richard Sulaka II - Winning Futures Mentor, Former Winning Futures Student at Cousino High School