When MaKinley Peters spotted Wendy Cole, she came running.
The second-grade student at Adams-Friendship Elementary School had found a familiar face in the halls – not that of a classmate or teacher, but of a Gundersen Moundview Hospital and Clinics medical lab technician. Over the course of the school year, the two had become friends.
Cole serves as Peters’ mentor, and once a week before school, the two get together to talk, play games and enjoy each other’s company. The arranged visits are part of a mentorship program Gundersen Moundview has in place with the Adams-Friendship Area School District. This year, 16 staff members are participating in the program.
It’s an arrangement that was established in 2019 – with a pause during COVID. School social worker Erica Serstad says she typically starts young by matching a kindergarten or first-grade student with a mentor, and if that pairing works, they can continue meeting through fourth grade (the highest at the school) and even into middle school.
She says all kids can benefit from having a mentor.
“We look at what kids need that adult connection,” Serstad says, “so just somebody who maybe needs a friend or needs somebody positive in their life.”
Once paired, it’s the interests of the student that drives what each week looks like. Some play games in the cafeteria, while others burn energy in the gymnasium. But what they do isn’t as important as the connection that becomes of it.
“McKenzie, she’s got energy, but she likes to chill. She likes to talk,” says Anna Wolf, another mentor who works in nutrition services at Gundersen Moundview, adding that there’s no agenda for the hangouts. “That’s the good part about it, without having something underlying. It makes it relaxing and makes them comfortable.”
Both Cole and Wolf agree that their aim is to make a connection with their student.
“No strings attached; just fun,” Wolf says.
And fun they have.
Third-grader McKenzie Bowers is Wolf’s mentee, and they meet every Monday morning. Usually, the morning’s activities include talking while making clay sculptures or doing some painting. When asked what she enjoys most about having Wolf visit, McKenzie’s answer is simple.
“Having fun with her,” she says.
MaKinley’s idea of fun with Cole is a bit more active. They play games occasionally, but going to the gym and playing basketball or bouncing on a pogo stick isn’t out of the question. She likes having a friend come by each week, knowing the visit is just for her. MaKinley wishes it happened more.
“I want her to come every day,” she says.
“I wish I could,” responds Cole, herself a graduate of Adams-Friendship Schools.
Both women have been paired with just two students since they started participating in the program in 2019, and that’s allowed them to create some deep bonds. They look forward to seeing their student each week, and the students look for them.
“The kids know what days their mentors are coming, and if they’re not here, they will ask somebody where their mentor is,” Serstad says. “It’s just really cool to see the kids form a relationship with somebody who’s not at school. They really get attached.”
And so do the mentors.
“It was very difficult,” Cole says of when her first student aged out of the program. “You get attached to them and you learn so much about each other, and then they leave.”
Besides those bonds, another goal of the program is to help children become better students and better people.
“There’s definitely some social-emotional improvement with all of the kids,” Serstad says. “They’re learning empathy, they’re learning there are trustworthy adults outside of people in their home and outside of school.”
Gundersen Moundview has long prioritized partnerships like this in the community, says marketing and communication specialist and mentoring program coordinator Tammy Lowrey.
“We believe healthcare extends beyond our four walls,” she says. “Mentors can positively impact children’s lives, leading to their future success as adults.”
Since the program began five years ago, Lowrey says staff have been receptive to the idea of participating and have grown to see the need for it.
“I’m from this community, so it really pulls at my heart to give back,” Cole says. “It is so rewarding, and I didn’t think about it for me. I thought, ‘This is for the child,’ but it’s two-fold. It comes back to you so much more. I get so much out of it. It fills your cup when you get together with them.”
“Out of all the different things we do (at the hospital), I think this is the most rewarding,” Wolf adds.