Joshua was defiant when we first met him. Joshua’s teacher told us, “He had a lot of outbursts and didn’t want to follow directions. He was very confused.” His teacher and the School Social Worker were constantly working with Joshua. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t sit still and was struggling with attention issues. The educators needed more time in their schedule to give him all the attention he needed. We learned that Joshua comes from a home with little adult presence. 

Our Teach One to Lead One (T1L1) mentor team came to Joshua’s classroom, and we began mentoring him along with all the other students. Some of us started connecting with Joshua and slowly built a relationship with him. His teacher said, “I think the (T1L1] mentors are able to connect with a student like Joshua because they actually care.” Our team spoke hope into his life as we went through the T1L1 curriculum. Now, we are thrilled to see how he has changed. Joshua is more academically inclined to do his work. He is cooperative in the classroom, empathetic to others, and generally speaks positively. He told us, “T1L1 taught me to have self-control, never give up on my dreams, and treat others the way I want to be treated. If someone lets me down, I need to pick myself up a

Written by Joel Greder