January is National Mentoring Month, a time to remember and honor persons in our lives who have given us guidance, advice, love, or simply been there for us at various times in our lives. And a time to remember how WE have mentored others along the way. I honor some more of my mentors here and remember a few of my mentoring experiences.
My first mentors were most definitely my parents Walt and Barb Walters whom I write about often. The older I get, the more I realize and remember all they provided my brother Richard and me with. Most of all, LOVE, even if some of our life experiences and decisions were hard for them to handle.
Elizabeth Mary Tieking Stevenson, my maternal grandmother, gave her 9 children and her 34 grandchildren the example of faith lived out in service to others. She was a huge influence on me becoming a social worker.
When I was age 12, Don E. Richardson became the minister along with his wife Sue at the First Christian Church in Beloit, KS. He and Sue were to have a HUGE influence on me well into adulthood. My teen years were marked by anxiety and depression. I was able to counsel with Don weekly (at no cost) and when I hit a real low at age 17, he found more professional help that I needed. Don also sponsored me at age 16 in going on a life-changing trip with other Kansas Christian Church youth to the UN and the Capitol with all its awesome history. Mainly because of them, I went to Phillips University which they had attended, majoring in religion and sociology. Don helped a friend and me get into a chaplaincy summer program at Kansas Neurological Institute where I was employed many years later. Then at another point in life, we amazingly worked together in the alcohol and drug field!
At Phillips, this little white girl from rural Kansas had the lid blown off her naivete. It was during the VietNam War, upheaval in the US, and an introduction to persons of all diversities, lifestyles, and belief systems, within a Christian school. Professor Robert Taylor who had been a minister turned marriage counselor turned sociologist, and had 4 adopted Native American children, was part of my transformation. He led us on “love-in demonstrations,” (what a concept for today!), exposed us to social justice, and awakened passion and compassion in us for all humans.
In my 30’s, I totally switched careers and went into nursing. One of my awesome mentors was nursing instructor Jan Riordan, a vivacious, beautiful woman who had five children and was the wife of a pioneering psychiatrist. Jan had a passion for and helped promote the attributes of breastfeeding (for which she revived many awards). Not only that, but she introduced us nursing students to the world of complementary medicine. Because of her, this led me into my alternative career in the integrative practice of massage therapy and energy medicine which I still practice part-time.
In my own life, mentoring in the form of volunteering started at the age of my14 when I became a volunteer in our local chapter of working with the “mentally retarded” (the vernacular of the day) and their families. We had monthly activities, went to summer camp together, (what a BLAST), and sponsored a support group for parents. I learned SO MUCH about sheer unconditional love, friendship, compassion, and JOY from these amazing people which I will never forget!
There are so many more people who have not only touched my life, but helped me continue to grow even until now! I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR EACH AND EVERYONE!
I will be featuring two more amazing women from my Hospice experiences in the coming weeks.
I invite you to recall persons who have influenced your life and/or contributed to your life in some way. Also how have YOU been a mentor in YOUR own life?!
Blessings
Carolyn Quinn
