A Mentor’s Journey

“What is a teacher? I’ll tell you: it isn’t someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.”

-Paulo Coehlo, The Witch of Portobello

At Press Pass TV, we believe in the power of peer mentoring, in addition to the work that we do through our college and career readiness program, Taking Flight. We have found that these opportunities for peer-to-peer and mentee-led mentorship increase not only engagement, but also the sense of agency our producers have in their personal and professional development.

In Western Massachusetts, the work of our Holyoke chapter has grown tremendously. This would not be possible without the support of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Holyoke Local Cultural Council, the Best Buy Foundation, EILEEN FISHER, our clients and our mentors. Holyoke High senior and program alumni, Angel Cartagena, Jr., shared what his experience as a mentor has been like below:

Beyond Creative alumni, Angel, teaching the basics of shot establishment, audio, camera and storyboarding to

My experience as a youth mentor with Press Pass TV’s “Beyond Creative” has been a memorable one. I have taken lots away from being a youth mentor in the program. Aside from gaining extra knowledge with media, I have also gained valuable social skills during the time as well as meeting more people with similar interests as me.

My role as a youth mentor is to teach and assist the other youth with the process of making short videos such as PSA’s, and mini documentaries by showing the youth how to plan, record and edit videos. This has impacted me very positively as now I feel more comfortable speaking in front of people, and also refining my abilities both in front and behind the scenes of a video.

Our Holyoke Chapter youth flying high with ESPN News Anchor, Darren Haynes

Interested in making the difference in a young person’s life? You can inquire about mentorship opportunities through Taking Flight on our website, or contact our staff for more information:

• Eastern & Central Mass: Amy Melena, Program Coordinator- amy[at]tcproject.org
• Western Mass: Ali Pinschmidt, Western Mass. Program Director-ali[at]tcproject.org