October Mentor of the Month is Jill Mays

By Mary Wilson
For the Imperial Republican
    Jill Mays of Imperial has been named October TeamMates mentor of the month.
    Employed with Chase County Schools, she and her husband Monty have four adult children. Their daughter Tiffany and her husband Scott have four daughters. Their son Brady and wife Jacy have a son. Their son Tagan who’s living in Lincoln and their youngest son Zane, who lives in Imperial.
    Life gets busy for the Mays, but she finds time for her teammate, Ameila, who’s a sophomore. Committed to the program, Mays has been a mentor for 11 years. Ameila is her third mentee.
    As empty nesters, the Mays are looking for new ways to occupy their time. She loves crafting, cooking, reading and watching crime documentaries, but her favorite will always be spending time with family.
    Mays loves the concept the TeamMates program believes that relationships change lives. She said it’s not about fixing someone. It’s about listening, connecting, helping the mentee find their strengths, defining dreams and goals and bringing lots of encouragement.
    It’s rewarding when you can help a student see and build on what’s already strong within them. It creates confidence and hope. Mays says it’s an opportunity to make a difference in a young person’s life. She gets to enjoy the ripple effect of how incredible the program is not only for the mentee, but for herself as the mentor.
    Mays says each of her mentees have taught her valuable lessons and it’s rewarding watching them through the years to flourish, develop character, accomplish their goals and to grow positively.
    Mays and het teammate, Ameila, have lunch together and chat about life in general and how school and activities are going. They play card games, board games but mostly Mays says they talk and laugh.
    Mays’ hope is that her mentees go on to be mentors, paying it forward.
    Mays would like to encourage community members to become mentors. She said in talking with others, she often hears they don’t have time. She wants people to know it only takes 30 minutes during the school day.
    She reminds people that safe structured school environment means your only job is to show up and bring encouragement with a big smile. She said, “I promise your smile will last a lot longer than the 30 minutes you meet. It’s an incredible opportunity to make a positive impact on your mentee’s life as well as yours.”
    The TeamMates mentoring program started in Nebraska with 22 Husker football players that mentored middle schoolers attending a Lincoln public school. It is also the largest school-based mentoring program in the nation.