Learning to Trust: Elena & Bea

When Bea and Elena were matched through Bolder Options, they quickly found common ground. Both are Mexican, both speak Spanish, both enjoy trying new things, and they like a lot of the same music (the Reggaeton genre, Daddy Yankee, Bruno Mars, and Selena Quintanilla are on their shared playlist).

Elena and Bea stayed active at the Y, playing soccer, going on walks, and more. Through Bolder Options' partnership with Tickets for Kids, they attended lots of sporting events but tickets to Urban Air (an indoor adventure and trampoline parks) became a favorite destination, providing a unique and fun way to stay physically active together. The last time they were at Urban Air, they reported that they "felt like regulars" as they attempted obstacle courses, jumped around, and played volleyball. Urban Air is also the site of one of Bea's favorite memories that she says completely melted her heart. After months of encouraging words for her mentee, Elena surprised Bea by saying to her, "Wow, I'm so proud of you!"

Rather than tell their story for them, we asked Bea and Elena to interview each other!

Elena Interviews Bea

Elena (youth) had the opportunity to ask Bea (her mentor) a few questions about her experience as a mentor.

What made you want to become a mentor?

“I really just wanted to be a helping hand by offering my time. I had a mentor in university during my sophomore year, and it was really valuable to hear a different perspective on my situation at the time.”

What has been your favorite moment with me this year?

“My favorite memory was our last visit at Urban Air. I liked being able to jump around and turning the dodgeball area into volleyball. It was fun driving back home because we blasted the car music and sang along while the windows were down. It felt like a fun movie scene.” ("Nothin' on you" by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars is a favorite!)

What have you learned from me?

“I’ve learned to not use my GPS and trust your directions. I’ve also learned to be more mindful of trying new activities. I was afraid to ride the rides at Valleyfair, but you encouraged me to try them with you. I’ve also learned a lot more about sports since we’ve gone to a few sporting events.”

What does it mean to you that we can share language and culture together?

“I think it’s cool that we both speak Spanish, and I appreciate when you correct my grammar or pronunciation. Spanish wasn’t my first language like it is yours, but I do enjoy speaking it. Since we are both Mexican, it’s been fun sharing the same music taste and jokes sometimes.”

How do you think we’ve changed or grown since we first met?

“I think we’ve grown to not take each other so seriously. We’ve grown to be more vulnerable and comfortable with meeting each other where we are at. It has been great growing together and becoming friends through this mentorship.”

Bea Interviews Elena

What is your favorite memory we’ve had together this year?

“My favorite memory is when we went to Valleyfair together last summer. It was my first time going to the amusement park and I enjoyed getting on the rides and laughing together.”

What do you like most about our time together each week?

“I’ve liked that we’ve gotten to know each other more by learning different things together and learning what we have in common. Something that we have in common is that we have the same music taste and we both like boba.”

How does speaking Spanish or sharing your culture together make our time feel different or special?

“Being able to speak in our native language (Spanish) has helped me feel more comfortable expressing myself. In some situations where I know only we can understand each other in Spanish, I’m happy that you still get me because we both speak the language. I do think my time as a mentee would be different if I didn’t have a Latina/Hispanic mentor.”

What does having a mentor mean to you?

“Having a mentor is like having someone who is there for you and having someone to go out with and have fun. Having a mentor is knowing you have someone that you can talk to about things. It’s hard for me to trust anyone so having a mentor I trust helps me talk about things I don’t tell anyone else. Having a mentor means having a trusted and fun person to hang out with and try new things.” (Bea got a little teary-eyed hearing this.)

What is something new you feel like you’ve learned or tried since we’ve been matched?

“I’m not used to trusting anyone and I’ve learned how to trust you [Bea]. I’ve learned that it is possible to trust people sometimes and it's good to not stay isolated from people.”

Next steps for Elena & Bea

Bea's commitment extended beyond her weekly outings with Elena. During Operation Metro Surge, she helped deliver groceries and resources to Elena's family when they needed extra support. Bea works in immigration law and shared that being a mentor to Elena during this time made her work feel more personal and grounded during a heavy year. She has also volunteered on alumni career panels, helped with graduation events, attended mentor meetups, helped with recruitment events, and organized outings with other mentor-mentee pairs.

The trust, confidence, and connection Elena has built with Bea has created a strong foundation for what comes next. We look forward to seeing Elena & Bea's relationship continue to thrive over the summer as they progress toward graduation in September!