Jennifer and Iliana
Iliana faced many challenges at a young age. When she was 12, her older sister, who she considered her idol and respected greatly, left her home. This caused a wave of despair that deeply affected both Iliana and her family. Describing it as “too much to handle,” she became discouraged, started having problems at school, and began falling in with the wrong crowd. Through school recommendations, she was able to seek support through various counselors and other programs. Although she enjoyed meeting new people, she felt the support was temporary and wasn’t meeting her needs.
Fortunately, a counselor from her clinic introduced lliana to Friends For Youth, and a short month later she met her mentor Jennifer. “I still remember that day. It was during March and it was a cold rainy day. I was downstairs waiting for her because I was so excited to meet her. It was raining a lot but that didn’t take the excitement away from me. Finally I met her and she said ‘Hi! I am Jennifer, with a big smile and I said, ‘Hi, I am Iliana!’”
From the very beginning Jennifer was able to establish a special, respectful, and trusting relationship with Iliana. They explored new places and passions together. Their relationship impacted Iliana so positively that Iliana's grades started to improve from F’s to A’s and B’s. But Iliana believes her mentor helped her in areas of her life far beyond academics. “I am pretty sure that if I would not have met her that I could have gone to jail, dropped out of school, and been involved with gangs. I know that my life would be messed up, but it is not, and I really do thank this program for giving me this opportunity.”
The Friends for Youth staff was very excited to be invited to Iliana’s graduation, where she received an award for “Outstanding Civic Engagement.” Iliana wants to be a registered nurse and has been taking courses at Canada College while she works to help support her family. She also enrolled in a Job Training program to become a medical office assistant. She has earned awards for “Most Outgoing Professional Healthcare Worker” and perfect attendance. She also became a certified nurse assistant and earned another award for “Outstanding Achievement in the Crossing Borders Program”. Iliana is a mentor to all her siblings and encouraged her younger sibling to join the Friends for Youth program; Myra has now been with her mentor for several years.
To this day, Iliana and Jennifer maintain a great relationship. “Our relationship is very special and valuable. Everyday it grows more and more. Thanks to her I feel more prepared and more confident with myself and towards others. We have learned a lot from each other and I hope that we can keep it like this forever.”
Update: Iliana got married in August 2022, with her mentor Jennifer and Friends for Youth CEO Emeritus Becky Cooper in attendance!
