Picture this: a hectic kitchen half the size of an average classroom filled with cooks, dishwashers, waiters, and food, the chef moving sharply out of the kitchen, through the crowd of bustling people, and back into the kitchen to flip naan over a jumping flame. One of the naan flips didn’t go so well and it ended up on cold floor as opposed to the burning stove top. This is the dinner scene at Holy Land in Northeast Minneapolis.

The restaurant was chosen by South sophomore Wyatt Smith, who was accompanied by his mentor, Brian Freeman, to meet me at Holy Land.  Smith and Freeman’s goal is to taste food from different cultures around Minneapolis.  In the last two weeks, they’ve been to the Lotus, for Vietnamese cuisine, and now, Holy Land to experiment with Middle Eastern cuisine.

Freeman has been Smith’s mentor for two years now and they’ve become great friends. Freeman explained, “whatever we can agree on, we do.”

They met each other through 7th Generation National Tribal Mentoring Program, a program created to “build lasting relationships between tribal youth and caring adult mentors by connecting them through group cultural activities and one-on-one mentoring,” according to the program’s website.

Preceding my interview with Smith and Freeman, I emailed Rick Gibson, the director of school programs for Big Brothers Big Sisters and Nina Jonson, the director of training and outreach at Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota. Along with 7th Generation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities, YouthCARE, and Mentoring Partnerships of Minnesota are some of the mentoring programs that help connect youth with mentors in Minneapolis.

Gibson wrote, “Mentors provide one more positive asset in a child’s life- one more tool that a child can use or rely upon to help bridge a gap or overcome a challenge.”

“My mom signed me up so I said ‘okay’,” said Smith, explaining how he got involved with 7th Generation. Many kids join mentoring programs because they don’t have a solid adult support system at home. However, Jonson countered in his email that- “Mentoring is not something that is only for ‘certain kids.’ Mentoring is something that will benefit every young person.”

According to Big Brothers Big Sisters, 79% of kids who are mentored improve their self-confidence, 68% improve their academic performance and 65% improve their relationship with adults.

Jonson, explained that “mentoring plays a key role in the positive development of teens, as having a mentor can help young people do better in school, make positive choices, graduate high school, achieve success in college, and more!”

Since 7th Generation is a “tribal mentoring program,” the participants usually have a connection to Native American culture.  Smith is Anishinaabe and has family on the Red Lake reservation in northern Minnesota.  Freeman has been singing and dancing for thirty years at pow wows, funerals and other Lakota ceremonies.  His knowledge of the Lakota culture makes him a great mentor for Smith.

“Technically my blood comes from White Earth but I don’t know much about the Ojibwe way but I know a lot about the Lakota way,” said Freeman. He continued to explain that he became a mentor because he wanted to pass that knowledge on:  “I thought about doing [mentoring] for years.  [My wife and I] never had any kids and we need to be able to give back.  Hopefully help somebody out . . . It’s a chance to share some of the things I’ve learned over my life.”

As Freeman and Smith ordered their food, children played tag through the crowds of hungry people, tripping and landing on the tiled floor.   Chaos continued as Freeman and Smith returned to our table, laughing as Smith described his disinterest in nordic skiing. He joked that he was afraid that skiing is too much like snowshoeing.  Freeman responded to Smith, “I’m trying to get you to as many different things as I can so you can make decisions later in life based on what you’re interested in.” Apparently, snowshoeing isn’t Smith’s calling.

“Some of the things I introduce [Smith] to, he doesn’t like,” continued Freeman, laughing. Freeman explained that he wants Smith to learn more about his own culture; however, Smith wasn’t too keen on the pow wow experience. The three of us continued to talk as the previously energetic kids in the restaurant began to yawn and families left for home.  The room that was once packed with hungry people looked about as exhausted as the cooks working in it, so we began preparing to leave.   

Just because some mentoring programs end when the kid turns 18, doesn’t mean the relationship the mentor and mentee have created ends. Jonson said that “having an adult who is ‘opting in,’ that is, voluntarily spending time with a young person, not because they are required to, can have a powerful and lasting impact on a young person.”

Mentoring has proved to be an incredibly wonderful opportunity for kids and adults.  Gibson said, “A caring, engaged mentor can partner with parents to help support [the child] and provide an alternative voice and perspective to help a child succeed.”

I left Freeman and Smith as they joked and reminisced about their eventful laser tag experience and wrestling at the waterpark. As I reflect on the interview as a whole, one remark stands out to me: Smith’s favorite part about having a mentor. “There’s someone there for you.”

Throughout our conversation, I observed many positive aspects of mentoring, but I also learned that mentoring isn’t all fun and games. It’s a serious commitment.

Freeman explained that “it’s hard to find mentors. It’s something you need to be dedicated to. It’s not something you can do and then skip out. The purpose is to be there consistently, to be someone they can count on.”