Erik Miller was skeptical. As a young eighth grade student in 1998, his junior high guidance counselor suggested taking advantage of a mentorship program called Operation Jump Start (OJS) to guide him through the critical high school years.
Miller agreed and was matched.
“At our first meeting, I was thinking this wasn’t going to work out,” he said. “I was this young African-American kid, and they linked me up with a retired Caucasian dentist.”
Fast forward to 2015, however, and Miller continues to stay in touch with Richard Van Gemert, the man who mentored him through his graduation from Millikan High School, and into his days at Woodbury University.
“He’s like a member of our family now,” said Miller, the first in his own family to graduate from college. “He’ll be at my wedding later this spring, and will really always be a part of my life.”
Miller’s story is not a unique one for the OJS community. Since the Long Beach-based nonprofit was founded in 1994, the mission was always to provide long-term mentorship support, thus creating meaningful, rich relationships designed to last for years.
Ideally, a student is paired with a stable, supportive mentor figure for five years, helping kids navigate the challenges of completing high school and applying to college. To date, 137 students have graduated from the organization’s signature College Access Mentoring Program (CAMP) having received at least 360 hours of personal mentoring, 150 hours of enrichment programming, 15 hours of educational case management and 70 hours of SAT preparation classes.
Students and mentors attend monthly events, including college tours, volunteer activities and fun, recreational outings.
As a result of this one-on-one coaching and support, 98 percent of CAMP mentees have continued onto college, and 87 percent have earned a degree or are currently enrolled in college.
Miller, who noted that Van Gemert assisted him with signing up for the SATs, applying for college and providing counsel on school decisions, said he actually benefited most from observing how his mentor behaved in social situations.
“He helped me learn how to act in a crowd, in professional settings and relate to family members,” said Miller, who now serves as OJS’ Director of Community Relations while also maintaining his own architecture firm.
Jasmin Hakes, OJS’ Director of Development, said the students entering the mentorship program must have and maintain good grades. The kids generally come from supportive families, but their parents may not be familiar with the education system, or understand what is involved in applying for colleges, or they might struggle with English.
“These are good kids, and they just need some positive role models to believe in them,” said Hakes. “Our success rate illustrates this long-term mentorship model works.”
Interested mentors go through a thoughtful and comprehensive interview with an OJS case manager, who in turn matches male students with male mentors and female students with female mentors, always considering the students’ specific challenges and goals.
“It’s a huge commitment, but we attract amazing, successful mentors who feel compelled to give back to the community,” said Hakes. “Our mentors consistently tell us they get so much out of the relationship and enjoy seeing these young students grow and succeed.”
Al Regnier, a retired business executive from Rossmoor, became a mentor two years ago to a Long Beach Poly junior.
“I’ve been so impressed with the quality of mentors in this program, as well as the families and kids we support,” said Regnier, who helped his mentee graduate last spring and get into UC Merced. “Being a part of this program has really restored my faith in humanity, and I’m so proud of my own mentee, who has worked so hard to get to where he is today.”
As OJS enters its 21st year, Hakes says the goal is to secure additional funding so they can bring on more mentors, and sustain the mentoring relationships in existence today. To learn more about Operation Jump Start, or to make an online donation, visit www.operationjumpstart.org.
“It’s wonderful to see an organization like OJS commit to these kids and match the great talent we have in our County with the next generation of leaders and thinkers,” said Supervisor Don Knabe. “It really shows what a difference positive roles models can have on our youth, and what can happen when someone believes in you.”