How The iMentor Program Lets This Dad Give Back

0:00 [Music] my name is Sherman Reid I work in financial services I am the father of two beautiful children Justin and Ariana and I'm also a mentor in the I mentor program I'm a first-generation college student in my family I'm a sophomore at the New York City College of Technology and I'm majoring in computer science having chairman there's someone that I know helps a lot cuz my family even though they try to help me as much as I

0:30 can it's better to have someone that has gone through it to help you out with it we know that male students who are mentored are 55 percent more likely to graduate high school and students in the I mentor program are twice as likely to graduate college than their peers and I mentor we are a national nonprofit organization that partners with high schools in lower-income communities where the majority of the students will

1:01 be the first in their family to go to college we match each of our students with a mentor is dedicated to the students education and career success so I've known Jeffrey for seven years now I met him we first were matched when he was in ninth grade especially remember the I mentor event back in high school I knew I was gonna meet Sherman and have a lot of fun in the the event and talk about stuff that interested me in him

1:30 we sometimes spent like a week without talking but that out of the blue he made sure to communicate with me he says we must hey how you doing how's your date going how's your week if you need any help let me know which is like really expensive so I can't live off campus a and I cam Donnybrook of the school yeah all right it's a dilemma I'm thinking about it as a mentor Sherman is

2:06 a great person he's not too serious but he's serious enough so that we can get to the job we're very big Marvel fans comic-book fans so whatever movies coming out know this week that has to do with the Marvel Universe or anything that has to do with superheroes favorite memory see what's the recent one to the movies because I got it I got a chance to like meet him and his son and some of these family and I also got to see him

2:41 interact with his son as a father few years before I became a mentor I became stepdad what is your first I guess memory of me meeting me for the like you had came over to the house and I didn't like you at first because I was like I

3:13 would sleep my mom cuz I was still six and then you'd come and then it was like I have to sleep in my room when I was like damn this sucks I remember getting ready for the wedding like a day off when we're all in the room pictures you know it's a good environment like when I'm around Sherman I feel like him like being in my life he's he's done his best to keep my best

3:45 interest in mind and that like he wants the best for me even if sometimes I'm not doing the best for myself I kill the host of nine he's like hey like you you you know you're better than this or you know you have more potential than that and that you can easily do better my stepson Justin is a couple years younger than Jeffrey man you fell had the idea of introducing Justin to Jeffrey so that they can I guess build

4:14 their own relationship so you finished your core classes yeah okay [Laughter] Sherman to me now he's he's a friend I doubt we're gonna stop talking what I see myself doing is every time I accomplish something I got a message you're like dude I'm all gone oh and what I gotta yep I'm all grown up now I

4:45 have a job well I'm you know hoping that my mentorship with Jeffrey kind of leads into a legacy of you know mentoring and that he can mentor Justin in some way and hopefully then Justin can be a mentor to his baby sister Arianna every child has their own talent their own gifts and it's up to us to help them unlock that or really find their passion and then give them the

5:16 tools and the guidance they need to really bring whatever dreams that they have to fruition [Music]