Pam and Rosie

February 2022 TeamMates of the Month: Personal Best

Rosie says there are “too many words” to describe the friendship between her and her TeamMates mentor Pam. “I’ve never had a relationship like this ever before.”

They have been meeting weekly since 2018, and now start off their weeks with a visit at Rosie’s school, Lincoln High.

“It makes Monday mornings so much better to know we’re going to get to visit again,” said Pam.

In their visits, you’ll often find them crafting or playing games, always deep in conversation. “We just do everything really. Anything we can get our hands on,” said Rosie. Their traditions are her favorite, especially making graham cracker dip and cards for Valentine’s Day.

“Sometimes we just talk. Sometimes we’d say ‘Let’s talk and then we’ll play a game’ but sometimes we would never get to the game,” laughed Pam.

“Some weeks I just need a little bit of an uplift and she’s just there to help me with that– making me laugh, smile, helping me if I need to talk,” said Rosie. “It’s just nice to know she’s there.”

“It’s good to be able to bounce ideas off of each other or just hear what Rosie is going through and be able to put a little different spin on it, to figure out how to turn it into a learning opportunity or growing opportunity and make the most of it,” said Pam.

A recurring theme in their discussions stems from a philosophy Pam has used with her own two children over the years. “Just be your personal best,” has turned into the simple mantra “personal best” to remind Rosie to not put too much pressure on herself.

“Rosie likes to take care of everybody else, so we’ve just talked about how you’ve got to take care of yourself first and do your personal best,” said Pam. “You can’t compare yourself to anybody else; You just do the best that you can do every day and she reminds me to do that, too.”

Pam and Rosie agree Rosie’s caring nature and self-discipline opens up many future career options. At the moment, the 9th-grader is thinking about social work. “I feel like helping other people. Giving them something they might not have in life,” said Rosie, smiling at her mentor, “Being that special person for them.”