Katz and Samson
By Mentor & Board Member Katz
Mentor Katz
In 2019, I started working in Redwood City and was a boomerang to the community, having spent six years in Chicago for college and work. Through a skills-sharing event for non-profits hosted by my employer, Box, I had the opportunity to work on a data analytics project with Friends for Youth staff in our Redwood City office. I immediately connected with the organization and its mission given the role that mentors had played in my own academic and professional lives.
Shortly after, I signed up to become a mentor. However, as soon as I was approved for a match, COVID hit. When Friends for Youth developed a temporary, fully remote mentoring program later that summer, I matched with my mentee Samson. Those early days were filled with many Zoom calls, as we both learned about each other’s interests, lives, and families. Once we were allowed to meet in person, Samson and I met up weekly in either a park or hiking trail in San Mateo, where our friendship beyond the screen began to emerge.
Having hit the 1-year mark with my mentorship with Samson, I believe that our successful pairing wasn’t because we shared a bunch of common interests and experiences – in fact, our upbringings and lived experiences couldn’t have been more different. Rather, it was a simple desire that we both shared to be authentic and open with one another that allowed us to develop such a strong relationship. Even though Samson was officially my mentee, I find myself learning so much from him as well and I couldn’t be more grateful for our friendship.
“...it was a simple desire that we both shared to be authentic and open with one another that allowed us to develop such a strong relationship.”