Meet Lindsey Long and her amazing mentee, CISNT student, Alejandra! Lindsey is one of our two 2016 CISNT Volunteers of the Year and has mentored Alejandra for close to nine years.
This wonderful match began when Alejandra was in the third grade at Lakeland Elementary and is still going strong today as she prepares to enter her junior year at Lewisville High School. Their meetings have taken place across four different schools in Lewisville ISD and Denton ISD. When Alejandra’s family experienced crisis and had to relocate from Lewisville to Denton for a while she was forced to change middle schools during an already difficult time. Lucky for her she relocated to Calhoun Middle School where CISNT operates two programs and was able to connect with the Site Coordinator for continued support and to request that Lindsey be able to continue seeing her. It is not uncommon for students served by CISNT to change schools due to familial stressors, but it is rare for a mentor to show such devotion and drive from one district to another to keep a match going. However, that is just what Lindsey did!
Lindsey has experienced with an array of life changes in the time she has spent pouring into this young life as well. She is now a stay at home mom to four young children of her own, including bran new baby this month. It would be easy for her to justify being too busy for an additional weekly task but she has remained steady in her commitment and has even brought her children with her to play in a CIS classroom while she a Alejandra had their time together on more than one occasion. Lindsey demonstrates the consistency and dedication needed to ensure a successful mentoring relationship, an accomplishment that is much easier talked about than lived out.
It is clear to see why Lindsey was voted CISNT Volunteer of the Year and it is more than deserved! Thank you, Lindsey for your passion and perseverance! We look forward to honoring you on April 29th at the CISNT End of Year Banquet – Celebrating Successes. (If you would like to join us, RSVP here: http://bit.ly/CISNT-CelebratingSuccesses)
Last summer, the CISNT Volunteer Department decided to highlight these two wonderful ladies in the video. Lindsey’s dedication to this amazing young woman has helped support and shape her into the powerhouse that we see here. (Make sure you have a tissue handy before you watch!)
