By: Megan Souter, PEER Program Coordinator

The PEER Mentoring Team had the pleasure of joining the National Mentoring Summit, on January 26^th through to the 28^th! The Mentoring Summit was a fantastic opportunity to see, learn, and visualize practices beneficial to mentoring and the cultivation of empathic and engaging relationships. Workshops like “Mentoring for Sustainability: Fostering Leaders and Changemakers” and “Quality Questioning for Safer Stronger Longer Relationships” was a huge addition to the mentoring teams toolbox for success. The Summit also provided the opportunity to speak to the legislative aides for New Jersey Senators and Congress Representatives such as Cory Booker and Josh Gottheimer and advocate for the importance of providing policy and funding for investing in our youth, in the form of mentoring and other initiatives!

As a first-time attendant to the National Mentoring Summit presented by MENTOR, I was very impressed by the whole experience. We were presented the opportunity to engage with New Jersey elected officials during the Capitol Hill Day, sharing our personal testaments regarding legislation and the impact mentoring has had on our individuals. In addition to the 8 live workshop’s I personally attended, we have been granted access to full multitude of workshops, so the learning doesn’t end! One of the most memorable workshops I attended was that of “The Tip of the Iceburg: Understanding ACEs and the Impact of Mentoring” presented by Shari Collins. Collins emphasized the impact of understanding and combating ACEs, specifically though enhancing external supports that youth have!