Hutton Honors College

Jason Plumton looks forward to Tuesdays. One recent Tuesday he made a Halloween bat. "We do monthly crafts," he says with a smile stretched across his face. "We spend an hour together each week," Plumton continues. "Our time is split in half, 30 minutes on school stuff. The other half is playtime."

Plumton is a sophomore business student at Indiana University. Playtime? Just the notable perks of spending time with a 3rd grader through the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program offered through the Indiana University Hutton Honors College Community Service Program.

Hutton Honors College has recently revived its partnership with Big Brothers and Big Sisters of South Central Indiana. In the past, the HHC had referred potential mentors to the program. Now the HHC has partnered up with BBBS to develop better relations and expand its reach.

Jason Plumton began mentoring at BBBS through the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network, and was thrilled to hear that the HHC was involved in the program. "It's a great program, I can't say enough," he says. "They (BBBS) need more people. They're really accomodating, so consistent. I'm there the same hour every week."

The HHC had offered reading programs to interested students in the past, but community service advisors yearned to expand on the student-to-student relations. "It makes you realize that you can give up this one hour of your time," Plumton says. "I know my little brother looks forward to meeting with me every week."

"Big Brothers and Big Sisters offers many different programs," sophomore Katie Koors, one of two HHC Community Service Program interns, explains. "One of the mentoring programs they offer is being a school big." Bigs spend an hour a week with their mentee, or little. The time is spent during school hours, on school grounds. Currently, the HHC offers mentoring partnerships with some Monroe, Owen and Putnam county schools.

There are about two dozen Hutton Honors College students mentoring with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. "We've only been working on this for a short time," Koors says. "We're trying to hit sophomores and juniors. That way they're old enough to have college going." Yet, still young enough to commit to a year of mentoring. The program asks for a one academic year commitment in order to establish a proper relationship.

"It's hard to open up to a complete stranger," Plumston says. "I just kept thinking about what I'd do if I was in the same situation." Plumton has mentored his little, DeVonte, for more than a year. "It took DeVonte a good month, or about four meetings, to begin to develop trust. He needed to realize that I was there as a brother and a friend, not there as a parent to tell him what to do."

Big Brothers and Big Sisters searches for role models. "The kids look up to older kids, they like the opportunity to interact with them," Koors says. "Through the meetings, they see that school is important, that helping others is important." To the littles involved in BBBS, an hour a week from a commited student mentor means everything.

The HHC Coordinator of Student Programs Nigel Pizzini has personally been a big brother for eight years. "The program encourages people to develop new strengths and lasting friendships," he says. Intern Katie Koors finds that being a big brother as an adult like Pizzini "would be huge." She looks forward to expanding her mentoring responsibilities in the future.

Koors finds that mentoring gives students different experiences than just being a student. "There are huge lessons in responsibility, time managament and life skills," she says. 'You're pretty much taking responsibility for improving someone else's future. It's not yourself you're dealing with."

Plumton says that mentoring has expanded his communication skills. "You learn that feedback isn't always necessary. With DeVonte, all he really needs, as cliché as it sounds, is someone to listen to him."

An updated version of the online Big Brothers and Big Sisters application is available for interested students. BBBS takes great pride in their careful screening of potential mentors.

"They want to know what you enjoy, what they (BBBS mentees) enjoy, your overall interests," Plumton explains as he glances down at his suit and tie. He laughs, "Usually we play football, but we couldn't today because I had to wear this." Large numbers of Hutton Honors College students participate in community service programs. Mentoring through Big Brothers and Big Sisters of South Central Indiana is just one option. Katie Koors and the rest of the HHC community service advising team are in the midst of scheduling another call-out meeting for new mentors. "I intend to work with DeVonte all four years (of college)," Plumton says. By graduation, Plumton will have a lot to add to his resume. In his four years of mentoring, he will have impacted a young life, built on necessary communication and responsibility skills, and acquired an entire dormroom of elementary crafts.

Elyse Heckman