Goals Beyond Hockey for Role Model Mentors Duo Harrison and Mason

 

Meet RHS Senior Harrison Chuma and fourth grade student Mason Bloechle, a pair of Ridgefield hockey players who recently shared their Role Model Mentors story.  

I met Harrison and Mason during one of their weekly meetings.  From the beginning I knew these two had a special bond.  There was a level of comfort and respect that was hard to miss.

“It was my mom’s idea to get a mentor.”  Mason told me.  “I didn’t really know what that meant but thought it sounded good.  I knew I would like Harrison as soon as I met him.  We have the same haircut, and he loves hockey as much as I do!”  

Harrison, a member of the Ridgefield High School varsity hockey team, is Mason’s mentor. Mason is known to show up at Harrison’s hockey games, tellings his friends,  “That’s my mentor on the ice.” While their love of hockey is a big part of Harrison and Mason’s bond, there is much more to this relationship.

Weekly meetings begin with school work and end with fun.  Harrison explained, “We usually start the session with homework, reviewing vocabulary words and reading, then we’ll play board games, shoot pucks or maybe get in a game of knee hockey.”

 

“We couldn’t be happier with the role model Harrison has become for our son,” remarked, Jennifer Bloechle, Mason’s mother. “Mason had an assignment in school recently to write an essay about one person in his life, and he chose Harrison. That choice -- and what he wrote -- showed us how much Mason looks up to Harrison.”

 For a mentor like Harrison, playing a varsity sport and staying on top of academics is demanding.  I asked Harrison how he finds the time to fit mentoring into his busy schedule.  He was quick to tell me, “Being with Mason is like looking through a window back in time.  Mason reminds me so much of myself at his age.  It’s nostalgic.  I like that I have the ability to impact someone’s life.  I had mentors that helped me.  My siblings, coaches, and teachers were not necessarily called mentors but I realize now, that’s what they were.”

It’s safe to say both boys put this relationship in the win column.

Role Model Mentors matches outstanding high school students with elementary and middle school students, based on shared interests and specific needs. In their weekly mentoring sessions, mentors offer younger kids a positive influence and a uniquely-tailored combination of activities. This might be study skills and sports, math practice and music practice or homework help combined with time for hobbies like robotics or art. 

Visit rolemodelmentors.com/enroll or call 1-800-485-6013 to learn more.