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By: Morgan Schneider

Regianna is a nine year-old girl who loves animals and may be a little boy crazy, seeing that she has three boyfriends according to her mentor Katie Newton. Regianna is a bundle of joy and usually super hyper. She lives in Terre Haute with her huge family of 11 in a small three-bedroom home. Newton is not used to this life style, so it has come to a shock to her since she started mentoring Regianna.

“It is super hard to see how she lives and is growing up,” says Newton. “Especially when she asks me to sleepover all the time, but that is not allowed.”

Newton got involved with mentoring after a friend of hers, Morgan Loudermilk, introduced her to the program. She was a mentor in high school for incoming freshman, so she was already familiar with the process. What she was not prepared for was Regianna’s living and family situations. Newton says that being around Regianna’s family situations has made her feel blessed with what she has and what her parents have blessed her with.

“I could not imagine living like she does and I know that she is one of the bravest kids out there,” said Newton.

A normal day for Regianna and Newton is pretty basic. Newton will pick her up, she usually goes and buys her food and sometimes a little toy, and then she helps Regianna with her schoolwork. Newton loves being able to buy her food and toys after seeing all that she has and says that it does not bother her financial situation when she spends money on her. She even took her to a Pacers game once.

The only time Newton has troubles with Regianna is when she is helping her out with her schoolwork. Regianna can become very hyper and distracted, but at other times she can become very sluggish and tired. It all depends on the day. Newton has to help with not only schoolwork, but also teaching Regianna right and wrong. Coming from a low-income family, Regianna does not always have the best manners and struggles with know the difference between right and wrong. Newton likes to emphasize on always saying please and thank you and how to treat others at school.

Newton really wants Regianna to succeed and that is why she is her mentor. She loves being Regianna’s big sis and watching her grow to become a better person. What she loves the most is how she has been noticing Regianna academics increase: mainly her spelling and pronunciation. She wants to see Regianna in college one day and making a better life for herself.