CPE Mentor Spotlight with Kevin Jones

April 1, 2020

Kevin Jones became a CPE mentor in the summer of 2018. He is a Program Engagement Liaison for the Department of Defense and believes that relationships are essential and influential in a young person’s life as they navigate through high school and college. Learn more about CPE mentor, Kevin, below.

Why did you become a mentor?

I became a mentor because I was that child who needed a mentor, but never had one. Growing up in an environment where education and the exposure to different experiences outside of my immediate surroundings were not deemed important, I came to realize as an adult how important those aspects are to our success. I wanted to pour the importance of education into someone younger than me, so at an early age they could have the head start on success that I never had.

How long have you been mentoring with CPE?

I have been mentoring with CPE for almost two years now. The overall experience has been very positive. CPE does an excellent job of planning different activities which enables the mentor/mentee relationship to grow.

What is your favorite activity to do with your mentee?

My mentee and I do a variety of activities together such as attending college tours and going to restaurants, and I go to his rugby games. This year, I took Stephon to his first Redskins game and it was the most fun I have ever seen Stephon have – we both really enjoyed that.

What is one of your mentee’s dreams?

My mentee’s dream is to be the first person in his family to graduate college. This is a dream that I would like to help to see him achieve. Being that I was the first in my family to attend and graduate college, I can understand the trials that my mentee is going through and what type of advantage he can expect to have with a college degree.

How are you helping him achieve it?

I help my mentee achieve his dream of being the first in his family to graduate college by giving him advice on what worked and did not work for me when I was his age. Exposing my mentee to different people experiences and individuals I also feel will go a long way. For him to see what he is capable of achieving by hearing other people’s stories is a valuable tool for him going forward.

How has CPE helped you in your mentoring relationship?

CPE has helped my mentoring relationship with Stephon greatly. As I stated earlier, CPE plans and hosts numerous activities for both the mentee and mentor to attend. Also, the assistance and feedback that I receive from CPE is very beneficial.

What advice would you give anyone considering mentoring?

My advice to anyone considering mentoring would be to absolutely do it. Overall, it will be a very rewarding experience, and there are many children out there who need a good mentor to lean on. I would also advise them that everything will not always be perfect – that there will be challenging times but just stick with it and never lose sight of why you wanted to be a mentor in the first place.