When asked to describe his mentor Frank in one word, Holmes High School senior Diontae quickly replied, “loving…tough love, but very loving.”  A retired educator himself, mentor Frank strongly believes in the importance of education as the key to success for the six young men he has mentored over the last five years (Taejuan, Kyrie, Diontae, LeShawn, Caige, and Markesis).

Frank’s first question to each young man every week, is “How are your grades?”  From there, words of encouragement and ideas for accomplishing goals are discussed.  Frank often connects with his mentees’ parents, teachers, and guidance counselors for strategies to improve academic performance, and the mentees know that they are supported unconditionally on every front.  Frank’s mentees enjoy Frank’s “happy, energetic personality,” and appreciate that he assists them with seeing things from different points of view, and with staying motivated to reach their goals.

Many of Frank’s mentees are student athletes, and he loves watching his mentees compete.  He feels that sports such as wrestling, are a lot like life in general, “you get knocked down, work through adversity, and have to get back up again.”  For Frank, sports wins are great, but watching his mentees fight through tough times in life is what is truly valuable.  One of Frank’s mentees described him as a “life coach, because he’s so supportive and always gives me good advice.” His favorite part of mentoring is when one of his mentees look at him and something just “clicks,” wherein a mentee’s actions are moving from external to internal motivation.  When asked what his favorite moments in mentoring have been, Frank references the time he and mentee Kyrie went into a room, got on the phone, and didn’t come out until that student had a full-ride scholarship to Pikeville University (true story!).  Additionally, it is very meaningful to him when his mentees call him, seeking his advice regarding issues they’re having in all areas of life.