Featured Mentor – Kelly Dolan

We’re thrilled to feature Kelly Dolan in today’s blog. Kelly has been a mentor through longtime Read Ahead partner, Nomura, since 2017. Not only is she a stand-out member of the Junior Board, Kelly also ran the 2018 ran the TCS New York City Marathon as part of Team Read Ahead. We’re incredibly thankful that Kelly is a part of the Read Ahead community!

Why do you choose to be a Read Ahead mentor? 

Ultimately I chose to be a Read Ahead mentor because I wanted to give back. Education was a big part of my upbringing and now being out of school and in the corporate world, it’s easy to get caught up in my day to day job. Read Ahead provides not only my mentee an opportunity to learn and read every week, but it also allows me to take an hour once a week out of my work schedule to appreciate the little things and see how much of an impact an influential mentor can have on a young child’s development. 

What has the mentoring experience been like for you? 

My mentoring experience has been extremely rewarding. Having now worked with different students each of my three years as a Read Ahead mentor, I have gotten to see the varying positive impacts that this program can have on a child’s development, education, social skills, confidence, etc.

I 💛Read Ahead because of the excitement and smile I see on my mentee’s face when I walk into the classroom every Thursday to work with her!

 Can you share a favorite story, anecdote or moment that really resonated with you from your time as a mentor? 

My favorite story from my Read Ahead mentoring was when my mentee was so proud to tell me that she had read out loud a book to her entire classroom in her reading class. She was very proud of this accomplishment and so excited to tell me!

January is National Mentoring Month, and we want to hear from you! If you have a great story to share, contact us at communications@readahead.org, and you may be featured on the next Read Ahead blog!