2025 Mentorship Program: A Journey of Growth and Success

On January 25, United Way of Greater Los Angeles launched the second year of the Mentorship Program 2025 with an enthusiastic group of mentors and mentees ready to embark on a five-month journey of mutual learning and growth.

During the first session of the program, students from Los Angeles Community College, Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC), and West LA College received valuable guidance from their mentors to set their college and career goals. They also benefited from the workshop titled “Succeeding in Community College,” facilitated by LATTC’s professor Rian Acklin.

The program’s five monthly sessions will be hosted at the LATTC campus in Downtown L.A. Mentees and mentors familiarized themselves with the campus and began developing meaningful connections.

(From left, Rian Acklin, Edurdo Cortes and his mentor Aki Nisha Anish)

Eduardo Cortes, a student in the Architectural Technology Environmental Design program at LATTC, sees this program as a great opportunity to prepare for the professional world.

“It is awesome to have this opportunity to get guidance from all these professionals. They share tips, tricks, and different strategies. The diverse backgrounds from different professional fields make it all come together,” Cortes said. “Going into my last semester, I need to make sure about where I want to be in life after I graduate, so I can achieve those goals and help my family and my community have a better future.”

Danielle Sheppard, the director of West LA College Career Center, expressed her excitement about the program as this is the first time students from this college have been part of it.

“When I learned about this program,it warmed my heart because, from a very young age, I didn’t know the term mentorship. I didn’t realize that that was even a thing, but that was something invaluable to me. It changed my life,” Sheppard said.

Often students are told to define clear goals about the career they want or what profession to pursue. But, as Sheppard notes, “If you don’t believe in yourself or you do not know what opportunities are out there, then how can you do any of that? So, mentors and mentorship can be that bridge.

(Saudeka Shabazz, right)

Saudeka Shabazz, a faculty member at LATTC, explained how this program helps bridge that gap for students across the district’s nine campuses by connecting them with professionals in the fields of their interest. She noted that it is possible thanks to the partnership with United Way, which connects them with those mentors.

“Matching them with a mentor helps them learn essential skills like communication, networking, and goal setting, writing resumes, and others they need to be successful. This program gives them that extra boost,” Shabazz said.

Over 30 mentors volunteered for the program, driven by the reward of helping first-generation college students succeed. Leslie Silva, a wealth management advisor with US Bank, was a mentee a decade ago in a similar program from United Way when she was in high school. “It is really nice to be here 10 years later, as a mentor, and be able to give back”.

“That program gave so much to me. I was placed in an internship after, and it really prepared me for the real world. It gave me skills to socialize outside of a school setting and to be prepared in a professional manner,” Silva said. “One thing that I would really be happy to provide to my mentees is to reframe the way that they are thinking and see people who look like them doing remarkable things, and go, ‘Oh, it is possible!’”

2025 Mentorship Program

Erin Morton, vice president of strategic partnerships at United Way of Greater Los Angeles, thanked the corporate partners supporting the mentorship program, including Bank of America, EY, JPL, Black & Veatch, KPMG, SoCalGas, and US Bank.

“Partnership is so important to our work. So, we are thankful to all the partners who support us year-round and those who are volunteering now to be mentors for this program,” said Morton.

Martha Maciel Serratos, education program manager with United Way, who oversees the program, noted what makes this second cohort special.

“What makes this one very exciting is that we now know what to expect after the success of the first one. We know how transformative it can be for students,” she said. “What I love about this program is that it not only gives students the tools to succeed in community college, but it also gives them confidence that they can achieve anything that they set their minds to.”

The mentorship initiative is just one of the Community College Success programs at United Way of Greater Los Angeles. To volunteer as a mentor for future cohorts, please contact Denise Ocana at docana@unitedwaya.org or to join as a mentee, contact Martha Maciel Serratos at mserratos@unitedwayla.org.

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