Spring 2025 Scholarship Winner

Olamide Alabi

In his essay, Olamide emphasizes that mentors are vital to individual growth. He reflects on the guidance he received from his own mentors, who helped him develop valuable skills for his career and life. Congratulations, Olamide, and are excited to see what the future holds!

Read his essay here:

I believe that youth services are more than just vital to a community but are essential to the nurturing and growth of all future generations. In the past finding a proper mentor was not only the best way to learn a skill for a particular field, but the mentors also helped develop the mentee into an upstanding and functional member of society. As time went on, technology advanced, knowledge became easier to access, and certain skills became far more widespread than they were in the past. Because of this, the idea of having a mentor is seen as a “waste” because many believe that they cannot teach something that cannot be learned through the internet. I believe that this way of thinking is unhealthy and will only harm communities if it is continued to be adopted. By definition, a mentor is “an experienced and trusted person who gives another person advice and help, related to work or school, over a period of time” (Cambridge). In other words, a mentor helps advise an individual on different aspects of life over a period of time. Through this definition we can see how invaluable the guidance of a proper mentor can be. A mentor can provide their own real-world experience, hands on experience, different perspectives, help create new connections through networking, and create opportunities for an individual, which are all things that cannot be simply done through the internet. Which are all reasons that I know that having a mentor is invaluable to the growth of individuals and is vital to all communities.

I’ve had many mentors and have been included of many youth service organizations in the 18 years of my life, all of whom have taught me important lessons about myself, life, and how I should try and structure my future goals. Through the churches I’ve been a part of, North View Church and RCCG (Redeemed Christian Church Of God) I’ve volunteered and worked under the youth pastors. At RCCG I’m volunteering and learning and working under the Choir pastor as one of the backup singers for the church. But the Mentors that have had the most influence in my life so far are my mentors Ms. King and Ms. Atkinson From their Company Align Health Careers. I first enrolled with them to get an EKG certification. As they helped me obtain my EKG certification, they also helped me learn different skills related to the healthcare field, introduced me to healthcare workers, showed me job opportunities for healthcare jobs, taught me important life lessons, and exposed me to aspects of the healthcare field that I would have never known given my current age. Even though my time with them was short the amount of knowledge that I gained from them will significantly help my future goals.

Although I’ve only lived 18 years the amount of experience and knowledge that I’ve gained from my mentors over time has proved to be invaluable in my growth and development. I can say with absolute confidence that mentors and youth service organizations are absolutely vital to a growing community