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The typical progression to mentor begins with aspirations to give back — after you've gone to college, graduated, gotten a job and established yourself as a success.
Devante J. Robinson couldn't wait that long.
After navigating the pitfalls that befell his fellow classmates, the Hillsborough High senior wants to share what he he's learned with younger students — now.
"People have to understand that when you're a child, that's when your mind is the most fragile, but most productive," said Devante, 17. "The child has a lot of intrinsic value, but one ounce of marijuana or one ounce of cocaine can change all of that and ruin your life.
"A lot of the friends I used to know in middle school are in jail, in prison. There's only a small percentage of us that's actually graduating."
So Devante, the second youngest of 11 children, volunteered for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay. He mentors Lazius, a fifth-grader at nearby Sulphur Springs Elementary.
Although Devante knows his father, he doesn't have a strong relationship with him. He relied primarily on the love of his mother, Nettie Miller, and self-motivation to stay on the right track.
But he recognizes it would have been good to have a male figure offer advice.
"I didn't have someone saying, 'Do this, do that. Let me see your report card,' " Devante said.
Devante is one of more than 130 high school students who mentor elementary school children through a Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Each high school student, a "big," is paired with a child, a "little," at a nearby elementary school or after-school site. They spend one hour a week at the school with their little.
"When I joined the program, I met my brother and I said, 'I really like this kid,' " Devante explained. "It seems like he's in a similar situation to the one I was in. I don't want him to be like the other kids (who got in trouble) and go down the same route.
"But it takes Big Brothers $1,000 just to get me to be a 'big,' with the cost of the background check and the training. I figured if I could do something possibly to help this program or just help one person, it would be good."
As the vice president of student government, Devante decided to do more than mentor. He wanted more high school students to recognize the importance of mentoring, so he organized a Big Brothers fundraiser at his school.
"We're quite impressed," said chief development officer De Anna Sheffield Ward. "For this high school student to understand the importance of why financial support is needed to help other children in our program, is outstanding."
The event, which included a gladiator jousting arena, netted $400. It's not a bad haul given that Devante was basically a one-man show, but he had hoped to draw more students.
"As you mature, you don't spend as much time with your family," Devante said. "You want to live your teen life, and I understand that.
"But at the same time, when you see what's going on in the community, you listen to the rap music, something has to be done," Devante said. "If things keep going the way they are now, it's not going to get any better."
Devante plans on becoming the first person in his family to attend college, likely at Hillsborough Community College. He wants to go into medicine and says no matter what life throws at him — he won't be deterred.
"I like what Barack Obama says, 'Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures.' "
I closed our interview by telling Devante we need more young people like him. He said he's doing his best to find them.
That's all I'm saying.
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