Mentorship is about ‘guiding’, not ‘doing’, says Darryl Jeffries

Columbia Community Care is proud to partner with groups who are providing caring and purposeful mentorship to young people in our community. Darryl Jeffries is a mentor with Stepping Towards a New Destiny, and below he shares his thoughts on the power of mentorship for him, and those he mentors.

What compelled you to become a mentor?

I was inspired to be a mentor by watching my family work in the school system, seeing the impact they had on kids and watching them change and save lives made me want to do the same. Also being the oldest of my 4 siblings I’ve always been in a big brother mentor role, so it just came naturally for me.

Did you receive mentorship as a young person what was the impact for you?

In high school I had a few upperclassmen who were mentors to me. They were like older siblings who gave me guidance when I needed it, they also made me more mature.

Do you still have a mentor? How has the mentor relationship changed as you have grown?

The closest thing I have to a mentor now is my father, but since I’ve graduated college I have relied on a lot of my coworkers who also work in the school system to give me advice and tips. A lot of them have been in my shoes and I trust their judgment.

What do you like most about mentoring someone else?

What I like the most about mentoring someone else is being able to watch them grow over time, and watching them learn from their mistakes in real time. Being able to give advice based on the different trials and tribulations I’ve been through and the mistakes I made, makes everything feel like a full circle moment.

What is the biggest challenge in being a mentor?

The biggest challenge in being a mentor is trying to keep myself from doing everything for them. It’s my job to guide them through life, not hold their hand and pull them where I think they should go. It’s hard allowing them to do things on their own sometimes, but it’s necessary because that is how they learn.

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