Miguel’s OJS journey didn’t exactly start with enthusiasm. As an eighth grader, he was signed up by his mom before really understanding what OJS was. “You can’t force me to join a program that I lack complete knowledge of,” he remembers thinking. But once he sat through his first interview and signed his participation forms, Miguel discovered OJS was nothing like he expected. Beyond college readiness, the program’s career exploration opportunities opened his eyes to fields and paths he never knew existed, especially in engineering.
Still, Miguel says the greatest impact OJS had on his life came down to one relationship: the one he built with his mentor, Carlos.
Like many of our students, Miguel didn’t open up right away. He struggled with confidence and often avoided asking questions in school. Because of the pandemic, his first meetings with Carlos happened over Zoom, which never quite felt the same as being in person. Everything shifted the day Carlos invited him to grab food at the Habit Burger. Somewhere between talking about soccer, family, and the 2022 World Cup, Miguel realized their relationship had become something more than mentorship. It had become a genuine friendship.
From there, the two built a bond that reached well beyond academics. Trips to boba shops turned into conversations about financial goals, and about learning to separate needs from wants. Carlos’s encouragement gave Miguel the confidence to put himself out there, whether that meant volunteering at the local library, joining Youth Leadership Ambassadors, or simply trusting himself through a tough Calculus class. Miguel will begin his next chapter this fall at Long Beach City College, and he credits Carlos with helping him get there with more confidence, bigger goals, and a clearer vision for his future.
For Carlos, becoming a mentor was its own turning point. Without the support of an organization like OJS, he became the first in his family to earn a college degree, largely figuring things out on his own. When the pandemic gave him time to reflect on how he wanted to give back, OJS felt like the perfect fit, a way to be the guide he wished he’d had.
Carlos will be the first to admit the early days of mentoring Miguel weren’t easy. Building trust with a shy eighth grader took more patience than he anticipated, and he privately wondered more than once if he was really making a difference. But patience paid off. Miguel slowly opened up about his AP classes, his goal of a 4.0 GPA, and his personal records in running. Somewhere along the way, boba runs became a tradition of their own, so frequent that the pair eventually worked their way through every boba spot in Long Beach.
“Many mentors join looking to support their mentee,” Carlos shared, “but it’s no secret they end up supporting us as well.” Through mentoring Miguel, Carlos says he grew as a communicator, a listener, and a leader, while also getting a front-row seat to watch a shy eighth grader become the confident young man who stood on stage at graduation.
Stories like Miguel and Carlos’s are exactly why OJS exists. A mentor may only spend a few hours a month with a student, but as Miguel put it, the impact can last a lifetime.
Behind every success story like Miguel’s is a mentor who chose to show up, again and again, for years and countless boba runs. Somewhere out there is a student waiting for their own Carlos, someone to grab a burger with, talk through a rough Calculus class, or just believe in them before they believe in themselves. That someone could be you.
Interested in becoming a mentor like Carlos? Submit an inquiry here.
