"Between artistic directors, choreographers and music directors, each person involved in every show I am a part of impacts me in varying ways. Among them all, none have ever had such a profound effect on me as Terry Fyke."
My Mentor - Bob Swaisgood
By: Zach Kroesen
"Bob gives not only me, but many students and adults with whom he works, trust, independence and solutions in approaching difficult problems."
Mentors can be teachers, older friends or family, or anyone who helps you navigate the world. Want to share the story of your mentor? Click the banner below, or head to myhero.com/create
The mentors in these stories work alongside MY HERO to mentor youth and adults.
Jessica Mayberry
By: Eva Haller
Jessica Mayberry is the founder and executive director of Video Volunteers, an organization that teaches filmmaking to underrepresented communities in India.
Eva Haller
By: Xenia Shin
Eva Haller is the recipient of the Ban Ki-moon Mentorship Award and the Forbes Women Mentoring Award.
Cheikh Darou Seck
By: Seny from Dakar
Cheikh Darou Seck
is an English teacher in Senegal who inspires his students to become MY HERO reporters and filmmakers.
Cheri Gaulke
By: Joy Wolf
Cheri Gaulk has mentored hundreds of successful video/film projects in her roles as a Video Art teacher and director of the Summer Film Program at Harvard-Westlake.
Mentors who encourage students to submit to MY HERO
Holly Carter
By: Wendy Jewell
Holly Carter
gives kids and others the tools to tell their stories.
Jeffrey Rudkin Receives 2022 MY HERO Teacher Award
By: Deborah Neff, Staff writer
In Progress, a Non-Profit Arts' Organization, Wins at 2021 Film Festival
By: Abigail Richardson
In Progress provides opportunities for artists to develop their skills as digital storytellers through the use of photography, video, and music.
Tige Charity and KITS
By: Abigail Richardson
Tige Charity, originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and who now resides in Los Angeles, is the founder of Kids in the Spotlight, Inc. (KITS).
Leonid Nevidomiy
By: Abigail Richardson
In September 2022, Leonid Nevidomiy a teacher from Yelanetskyi the Mykolavyiv region, Ukraine encouraged students to submit 10 pieces of work to the MY HERO Project.
Mendy Kanu: Pioneering Educationalist in Sierra Leone
By: Abigail Richardson
Mendy founded The Children Foundations of Technology School.
Cheikh Darou Seck
Global Educator
By: Laura Nietzer
MY HERO honors Global Educator Cheikh Darou Seck, a principal from Dakar, Senegal. Since we met at an iEARN conference in Slovakia in 2004, Cheikh and his students have contributed stories, art and films to MY HERO and we are forever grateful to him for his leadership.
Listen & Read Along
Herb Alpert
By: David Kelly
Herb Alpert
is a musician and artist who inspires young people to reach their potential.
Paul Cummins
By: Kristin Herbert for MY HERO
Paul Cummins
has devoted his career to finding ways to provide all children equitable access to a quality education.
The short films below highlight the power to change a life through mentoring. Meet both mentees and mentors through the films.
Daga - A Woman’s Fight to Empower Girls in her Village
By: Fama Ndiaye
In southern Senegal, Daga Baldé, a local leader in her community, is a passionate advocate for girls’ and women’s education.
Frida
Frida shares her experience being mentored by Esther Wojcicki at Palo Alto High School.
WOJ!
Produced by:by Jeanne Meyers & Wendy Milette
Esther Wojcicki shares her vision for a Moonshot Movement in Education.
Ambassadors of Hope [Trailer]
By: Cassidy Friedman, Amber Allen-Peirson
Through Harambee Arts, a group of Kenyans holds space for children in Kibera slum to express themselves freely.
Righteous Conversations - MEDIA Award
Produced by:Righteous Conversations Project
Righteous Conversations Project mentors youth to tell stories that promote tolerance.
Women Transforming Media -- Eva Haller
Producer: Jeanne Meyers, Xenia Shin
Eva Haller's dedication to philanthropy and activism is a lifelong endeavor.
Art that Celebrates Educators Who Act as Powerful Mentors
MY HERO IS CHEIKH SECK
By: Antonio Mendoza
Cheikh is a true mentor to his students.
Senegal Mural
By: Cheikh Seck's students
A section from a mural about life in Dakar
Senegalese Student Making MY HERO Art on the Computer
By: Cheikh Seck
Cheikh encourages his students to be computer creative as well as computer literate.
When I Learned to Read I Felt Powerful
By: Liza Donnelly
Mohamed Sidibay is a global educator who inspires young men in Sierra Leone to go to school, to study and to understand technology.
MENTOR’s mission is to fuel the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships for America’s young people and to close the mentoring gap for the one in three young people growing up without this critical support.
Who Mentored You? Learn about the mentors of celebrities like Marian Wright Edelman, Oprah...
In collaboration with MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, other nonprofit partners, and leading communication companies, the Harvard Mentoring Project established the month of January as National Mentoring Month.
Learn about a New Hero Every Day of the Year: Visit the MY HERO Calendar
Share Your Hero Essays, Films and Art through our Create Program
Outstanding essays submitted to MY HERO will be considered for a certificate/t-shirt prize or be featured on the Story Homepage.
