Men's Cross Country | November 3, 2016
Story written by Alli Waddington '16
Trent Mangold is not your typical college student. Amidst a rigorous class schedule, Trent is involved in various extracurricular activities, some of which include: being a member of the La Salle cross country and track & field teams, serving as the president of the Investment Club and a financial accounting tutor, and being a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and La Salle?Honors Program. Most notably, however, is Trent's involvement with the Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region program, where he voluntarily gives up an hour of his time each week to serve as a "Big" to a student at Logan Elementary School.
Growing up, Trent was the youngest member of his extended family and had various role models to look up to, all of whom helped shape his intellectual curiosity and expand the horizons on what he thought his future could hold.
"I wanted to be able to pass this along to a younger generation. I heard how much of a need there was for role models amongst the young students in this city and thought that it was the perfect opportunity for me to give back what I was given."
BBBS Independence is an organization that has been providing children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring relationships since 1915. These relationships have changed 'Littles' lives for the better. A National study found that, compared to their peers without mentors, Littles are 46% less likely to begin using drugs and 52% less likely to skip school.
"It's a lot of fun to go over to a school where the children aren't focused on test scores or their career and just relax and play a game."
Trent has been matched with his little, Scott, for over a year now. Scott is in the fourth grade and loves to play football. Their visits every week include eating lunch together, playing football or tag with Scott's friends, and talking about life in general.
"My main job is to make sure that he has someone there to talk to about things going on in his life, to be a friend. It's also rewarding to be looked up to by someone."
Big Brothers Big Sister's partnership with La Salle began in 2000, and this year La Salle's goal is to have 60 mentoring matches in the program.
According to a survey of former mentees in BBBS Independence mentoring programs, 81% of former Littles said their Big gave them hope and changed their perspective of what they thought possible.
Trent has done just that.
"Scott has told me that he wants to go to college and play football, and I'm glad I'm there to be able to support that dream and encourage him to believe that it's possible."
Trent was fortunate enough to grow up with a big brother in his family, but realizes that not every boy gets that opportunity.
"Many of our behaviors are shaped by the role models that we look up to. If you want to help shape a young student's future in a positive direction, then the Big Brothers Program is the way to do it. These kids want to have someone to look up to and learn from, and you could be that positive influence in their life. Even if it's just for an hour a week, it makes a big difference."
La Salle is currently looking for 10 more male volunteers this semester to become Bigs this school year. To apply, visit http://www.makeitbig100.org/volunteer/collegebigs/ and apply using your La Salle email and zip code
