We must learn to navigate a teenager’s mind

2022 T1L1 Western Region Scholarship

On June 16, Teach One to Lead One announced that Orman Nelson from Heritage High School in Vancouver, Washington, is the recipient of the Western Region Scholarship for 2022. He was presented with a $2,500 scholarship to further his studies next year at Washington State University.

The Western Region Scholarship was made possible by an anonymous donation to T1L1. It was established to help with college expenses for students who have gone through the T1L1 mentoring program and shown leadership skills in the classroom and beyond. Each student is nominated by a teacher associated with T1L1. Orman was nominated by his teacher, Brandon Angelo.

An encouraging presence

“Orman Nelson has been a student who strives to learn and grow.” Mr. Angelo said. “He would always volunteer for group activities and participate in group discussions. Orman always looked to see how he could apply the Universal Principles to his life. He has an enthusiastic attitude towards life, even though his life hasn’t been easy. He is a person who has been kind to his peers by helping them in class, and never having a negative thing to say about others. He would be a positive and encouraging presence not just in my classroom, but in others as well. Orman has ambitious goals for his life and strives to reach those goals by challenging himself and being willing to learn how to get to those goals. He doesn’t let setbacks or what people would see as barriers get in his way of trying to get to his goals.” 

One of Orman’s mentors was Tim Hobart. “Orman was always one to give thorough and thoughtful answers. He was also the one that consistently volunteered for our activities,” Tim said. There were a couple things that stood out to Tim regarding Orman. He was a good friend to one of the quietest students. Wherever his friend went, Orman was there with him. The student really didn’t have an interest in getting involved with T1L1, but Orman encouraged him to volunteer for some of the activities. When the friend gave a one-word answer, without hesitation, Orman asked a follow up question. “I ran over to him and let him wear my T1L1 (mentor) lanyard for the rest of the class!” Tim recalls. “The whole class celebrated Orman.”

Orman the energy giver

Ronda Taylor is another adult who mentored Orman. “I was fortunate to have Orman in my small group because whatever question I asked, Orman would always give a thoughtful and or thought-provoking answer which helped to encourage others to do the same,” Ronda commented. “Orman is a great representation of someone who strives to live by the Universal Principles on a daily basis. Orman is an energy giver and he is always respectful to everyone he interacts with. He is very compassionate and good at looking at things from other people’s perspective.”

Mentoring makes a difference

“Oftentimes people want to help students and they are not sure how to go about it,” commented T1L1 Western Region Manager Teresa Lutz. “They hear about the despair kids face – whether that be violence or drug use or depression. Teach One to Lead One has a long track record of helping kids cope with problems and giving them hope. Orman is a great example of a student who has taken hold of the Universal Principles and made them part of who he is. We have adults who say, ‘I want to be part of that, too!’ That is why this scholarship was established. We had an investor who saw the value in giving to help students like Orman.” 

T1L1 is continually looking for caring adult mentors, like Ronda and Tim, who will give time to help mentor students. We are also looking for investors who will partner with us, like the anonymous contributor did with this scholarship.

When he gets to his business and marketing classes at Washington State University next fall, you can bet Orman will continue to be a leader among his peers, teams, and community! It is who he is.