Last week was a short, but productive week. Grades went in the books on Friday for the end of the first 6 weeks of second semester, and we are anxious to pull grades sometime this week to see how they did. Unfortunately, on Thursday we had to close the doors due to the number of students missing from school to support "A Day without an Immigrant".  Lincolns crowded halls and over populated parking lots were as empty as I have ever seen them during school hours. Not having students in a classroom and getting that extra help after school was devastating, but will lead to a great conversation when we meet up with our students this week.    

Hello my name is Leslie Marquez and my mentees name is Jazmin.  My mentee and I have been working very well, we made an instant connection when we met. As we got to know each other we can now sit comfortably and talk about not only our school issues but issues that happen in our everyday life. There is trust between us. I am thankful that she trusts me as a friend as well.  There isn’t a day that we don’t have a laugh here and there. Even in the hallways we talk and check up on each other. I really enjoy being her mentor we always get hr work done and we are both helping each other for the better. I look forward to seeing how she brings up her grades and to see her improve in every way. I will be there every step of the way.

Hi, I'm Ruben, a Senior at Abraham Lincoln High school, activist, and motivational speaker. This year is the second year I been with YESS mentoring and I am proud of being a Lead Mentor this year. I'm  very passionate about decreasing the achievement gap through leading programs like YESS and various other organizations. Next Year, I hope to attend an out-of-state college and will study business and entrepreneurship while there. My hopes are to one day own my own business and contribute to organizations that assist low-income and other students at disadvantage.