Kelsey Ullom’s Mentor Journey
Happy New Year PAIR family and welcome back to our amazing students! From all of us at PAIR we would like to extend our best wishes for this next year. I know most of you have already begun working on those resolutions and are trying to start this year off on a positive note. Coming from a Caribbean family I always start my New Year not reflecting on the future possibilities but reminding myself of all I have to be grateful for. No matter how terrible the previous year was, there is always something I am thankful for. Therefore, I thought why not start by saying thank you to the incredible people who keep PAIR going, our volunteers? Yes my dear readers this is another volunteer highlight and this month we are talking about Kelsey Ullom.
Kelsey is one of our Global scholars' mentors from 2021 -2023. She stayed with the same mentee from their junior year right up until they graduated in 2023. Take a moment and reflect on the young ones in your life. Think of how much you invest in their care and growth. Now imagine someone coming into their lives and selflessly adding to that care. That sense of gratitude you’d feel in that moment is what I want you to hold on to as you read Kelsey’s story. For two years, she dedicated her time and care to a student who was not blood but in many ways became family.
I met Kelsey in a Zoom call in a classic post-pandemic style. Kelsey had this infectious energy. She struck me as a “go-getter” who loves the outdoors and has a seizes-the-day attitude! This made sense later on when she shared that she is an avid cyclist and has a great appreciation for folk music.
For someone like her, one would assume that at every point they just knew their way forward. However, after completing her first degree abroad in International Relations she felt disconnected, almost directionless. She loved experiencing the different cultures during her studies and being back home made her yearn for that experience again. This is where the core of Kelsey’s character emerges because instead of going backpacking through Europe she sought to connect with the immigrant community in Houston, specifically refugees. As much as she wanted to experience a different culture she also had this need to give back. This is how she found PAIR.
For Kelsey, the Scholars Program allowed her to have a deeper volunteer experience that went beyond simply giving out lunches (Though that is important as well!). And luckily for her, she and her mentee had an instant connection but that does not mean everything was smooth sailing. However, what kept her going was being able to witness as she put it the “evolution of impact”. Honestly, that is one of my favorite things about the work we do at PAIR. We get to see the impact of the efforts we put in every day and that experience is what truly makes the worst days worth it. That's what drives us.
Kelsey’s Mentee at her Guitar Recital
Kelsey and her Scholar’s Program Mentee
Kelsey diligently kept up with her communication and follow-ups with her mentee. This was her strategy to build trust between the two of them. She did not just want to tell her mentee she cared, she took deliberate action to show it. This trust was no better demonstrated than in the time Kelsey was asked to attend her mentee’s guitar concert in her family’s stead. Despite the young student’s family being unable to attend, Kelsey’s presence still made it a special moment for her.
The thing about this particular mentor is that she is proud of her mentee. Kelsey could not stop gushing over how much her mentee grew during their time together and how much in awe she was of her resilience. She remarked that both academically and socially she saw that girl blossom and get her footing not just in high school but also in her first year of college. Her mentee impressed her with the way they were able to carve out opportunities for themselves and make the best of it. Listening to Kelsey reminisce about her mentee I felt like I was listening to an aunt tell how amazing her niece was just so that I knew her niece was the best there ever was.
Now, because I love a little bit of humor I am going to share with you my favorite tale from the book ‘Kelsey and her Mentee’. At this point of the story Kelsey’s student was turning 18 and just like all of our favorite aunts and uncles, Kelsey was on a mission to make it something special for the young girl. That was when she decided to take her to the aquarium because she had never been. The day was going great, absolutely spectacular, up until they ventured onto the Ferris wheel. I am not sure why as both Kelsey and her mentee would appear to be afraid of heights. As you can imagine going around in circles whilst being so high was not the dream scenario. Nevertheless, they still were able to create beautiful memories that would last a lifetime.
At the end of our interview, I realized that Kelsey is one of those people who creates the good moments in life. She is the person who ensures that we all are taking something positive and unique from every experience. She and so many other volunteers like her have so many wonderful stories worth sharing. We truly honor our dedicated volunteers for creating these memorable moments for their mentees.