The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Our readers give their mentors a ‘shout out’

Skydiver remains in ‘serious’ condition
Updated 21 min. ago
Task force revived by Fairfield governing boards
8:58 a.m.
Quality of life up for discussion at special meeting
8:55 a.m.
Councilman making ‘great strides’ after open-heart surgery
8:53 a.m.
Temperatures expected to rise all week
8:09 a.m.
> More headlines

Staff Report Updated 8:11 AM Monday, February 1, 2010

HAMILTON — The Hamilton JournalNews recently invited our readers to tell us about the mentors who profoundly impacted their lives. We received dozens of responses, and here are a few of their stories in their own words.

Mother, grandmother instilled values

My grandmother and mother were the two most influential people who shaped who I am today. They were both strong women who believed in themselves and their work and made differences in the lives of many people.

Irene Lewis, my grandmother, led a life advocating for the civil rights of all people. She often helped those who were less fortunate, working with the Booker T. Washington Community Center, Community Action Commission, HA Long Health Center and organizing one of the first Girl Scout troops in Butler County.

Gloria Baker, my mother, was a lifelong educator and advocate of children of all abilities, retiring from the Hamilton City Schools.

Growing up they instilled in me their belief in the value of all people. Today, I believe that I live that value that all people have ability and value — advocating for individuals with developmental disabilities.

I was always very proud to say Irene was my grandmother and Gloria was my mother. I would hope that today both would be proud to say I am their granddaughter and daughter.

— Tanya Coffey, program services administrator, Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Hamilton.

Mentor sets gold standard

I’d like to give a shout out to my professional mentor, Jennifer Koch. Jennifer was a wonderful mentor for a lot of reasons.

She taught me the “ropes” of the thankless and frustrating world of victim services and social services. She taught me the concept of genuine empathy for people who are suffering, which has impacted much of what I do in my life.

She taught me how to take care of myself while doing emotionally-charged work, which is truly an art that is learned and honed with time. She taught me how to be a supervisor/boss whose authority is respected, but whose friendship and counsel are sought by those with whom I work.

Although Jennifer has been gone for nearly four years, and I have been the director of the Rape Crisis Program for over two years, we still keep in touch, and I still consider her the “gold standard” in my professional field.

— Becky Perkins, director of Butler County Rape Crisis Program, Oxford

Coach’s encouragement turned depression into joy

My mentor does not know she made a difference in my life because, unfortunately, we lost touch and then she died. Her name was Marla Oberhausen, and she was my diving coach at Miami University.

It wasn’t until after I graduated from Miami, when she and I were co-coaching a junior age group team, that she informed me of a graduate program at Miami called, Exercise Science. I had been frustrated working for a temp agency, having an English degree, and was on the edge of depression about my future.

She said, “You love to teach, and you love exercise — this is a real fit for you.” I entered the program a few months later, got my master’s degree, and for 20-plus years have been using that degree doing what I love.

She encouraged me at a very confusing and rather unhappy point in my life. It wasn’t until we’d gone our own ways and I matured some, that I realized how much she meant to me. May she hear me from heaven.

— Travis Kinch of Hamilton

Mentor brings comfort in time  of storm

Let me tell you about my mentor, a wonderful woman who is giving, loving and promotes goodness. Her name is Becky Carpenter and she has been my mentor for a long time. She is always available and open to talk with and to bring comfort in a time of a storm. She knows when something is wrong and that you need reassurance and guidance through a troubled time in your life.

She is a great lady who loves everyone and everyone loves her. She deserves to be recognized for what she does and for helping others. Becky is a member of Hamilton Christian Church and is on several committees there, and helps wherever she is needed. I am shouting out to everyone in Butler County that my mentor is a wonderful person. I love her very much.

— Barbara Gaston of Hamilton

Compiled by City Editor Kevin Aldridge

Share this article