Fallbrook AAUW AVID Mentorship Chair, Marli Shoop, marlishoop@comcast.net

SUNDAY APRIL 28, 2024, ARTS in THE PARK /Rally for Children. Mentors and mentees help in AAUW clay art station At Live Oak Park.

ABOUT FALLBROOK AAUW MENTORING PROGRAM

The Fallbrook branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) has created a mentorship program for girls whose AVID teachers have recommended them. To remain in good standing in the AVID program, they must maintain a high grade-point average, perform community service for a minimum of 50 hours per year, and commit to attend a four-year
university.

What is a mentor? A mentor is someone a girl can confide in, trust, listen to,
interact with, and be guided by on her journey through high school. Many girls
continue to keep in touch with their mentors for years after they graduate.

 

Friday, March 1, 2024,  AAUW FALLBROOK SPONSORS A YEARLY SPEECH CONTEST. Learning to speak publicly is a skill that our mentees will use going forward in both college and life.

Saturday, February 24 , 2024 – Fallbrook HS Folklorico dancers

The AAUW mentorship group held its Christmas party in the beautiful home of Patty Carlson. Lunch was provided by the mentors for the 14 mentees who attended. After lunch, they were invited to play a holiday book game. Former mentee, Alicia Tomas, shared her college experiences with the girls and then following the gift exchange was the cookie exchange . There were enough to provide everyone with cookies to take home.

2023-24 Events

September:  Ice cream social, October: Moonlight Theater “Seussical”. November: Movie Night “Hidden Figures “,  December Holiday Party, February Ballet Folkloric, March: Speech Contest.

Graduation June 2023

Thank you to Karen Langer Baker for many years of leadership as  AVID Mentoring Program Chair. We welcome Marli Shoop as the new Chair.

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Arts in the Park 2023, AAUW and Mentees Clay Activity

 

 

Career Day April 2023

Balboa Park Museum Day

See March 2023 Newsletter Volume 2 and Volume 3 for photos.

 

Speech Contest:   Friday, January 27, 2023, 6 PM

Fallbrook Library Community Room

Mentee Holiday Party December 2022

2022-2023 AVID Mentor Planning Retreat

2022 Graduates Fallbrook High School

Friday March 25, 2022 5:30 PM Fallbrook Library Community Room

Yearly Speech Contest. Topic “Gender Bias and Inequality”

Holiday Party December 2021

Field Trips for our mentoring program

April 2022, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego  MCASD grand re-opening of flagship location in La Jolla with ocean park picnic, tidepool exploring and seal watching.

 

 

Our field trip to Old Town Temecula in November

Carlene Friesen, Elizabeth Leader, Lesley Ibaven (left); and Yadira Zuniga, Jackie Alvarez, and Bobbie Miller (right)

Our Annual Christmas Party…

…as Marie (Lesley’s Mom), Barbara Luther, Kathy Bierbrauer, Elizabeth Leader, Terri Keyes, Sharon Robinson, Lesley Ibaven, and Carlene Friesen welcome the returning mentees (below), who always provide guidance and insight when they return to talk to the current mentees.

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Congratulations to our Graduating Mentees!

It was our own “Run for the Roses” and our graduating mentees certainly did justify our faith in them, as they finished high school with a bang and are making plans for the future. We are so proud of their successes, as they went from high school sophomores to accomplished seniors ready to face the challenges of the next steps in life.

To celebrate their accomplishments, AAUW Fallbrook held a graduation party for the girls, including current graduates, mentors, and past grads who returned to share their stories and inspire the new grads.

Each of the graduating mentees talked about her experiences with her mentor and the wonderful activities she participated in with the entire group

She shared her experiences in Spain and told the girls what they need to do if they are also interested in traveling to another country to study for a semester.

 

Each new graduate received a special certificate for honorary membership in Fallbrook AAUW for the duration of their college years.

Enjoying the food, fun, and fellowship on the patio

Paula Serrano, Jimenez Ramirez, Vivian Von Tersch, Lizette Mendoza, Ashley Osuna, Lizeth Luciano, Y’Lan Milton, and Irma Gonzales

Suzette Castellanos, Marina Rodriguez, Andrea Acevedo, Dulce Serrano, Bibiana Garcia, and Karen Estes

And the mentors had as much fun as the honorees!

Bobbie Miller, Karen Langer Baker, Ashley Scudder,
Larry Baker, and Cathy Monroe

Lesley Ibaven, Bobbie Miller, and Young Milton look on as Mona Bakker, right, a former mentor, talks about her experiences this past year. Mona will be rejoining AAUW and will become a mentor in September.

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AAUW MENTORING PROGRAM

After these two tours, we were treated to a wonderful lunch at Mentor Lesley Ibaven’s ranch and enjoyed meeting and feeding carrots to her two horses.

Lesley Ibaven, left, introduces her horse to the mentoring group: right, Lizette Mendoza, Esmeralda Gutierrez, and Karen Langer Baker look on as Vivian Von Tersch becomes more closely connected with Caruso, Lesley Ibaven’s horse.

Following lunch, Mentor Terri Keyes led an interactive discussion on expressing gratitude. After a few group exercises that included reading quotes by famous people, we paired off for more personal discussions on how we feel when we receive or give thanks.

Student of the month for April at Fallbrook High School

Esme Gutierrez was honored as one of just four out of more than 2000 students as Fallbrook High School’s Student of the Month for April 2018! In addition to maintaining a high GPA and earning credit for more than 2000 hours of community service, she was lauded by her AVID teacher, Connie Fellios, for her positive attitude and desire to help others despite the many challenges she’s had to overcome. Karen Langer Baker spoke of the joy she’s had being her mentor and how she has been inspired by her. Karen’s husband, Larry, talked about how he and Esme have shared their love of books.

Four of our mentees had the (sky) adventure of their young lives…..

Young Eagles

In 1992, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) started a program called “Young Eagles.” The program was created to introduce young people, aged 8 through 17, into the world of General Aviation by providing a free plane ride. These flights are offered through the generosity of local members of the EAA who volunteer their time and aircraft.

The program has maintained its popularity, in part, because of its simplicity. A pilot and each Young Eagle conduct a preflight check of an airplane, focusing on how the airplane works and how pilots prepare to fly safely. They then board the aircraft and take a brief (usually 15 to 20 minute) flight, where young people can discover more about the aircraft and the unique perspective from the sky.

Following the flight, each Young Eagle receives a certificate signed by the pilot and has his or her name entered in the “World’s Largest Logbook,” which is on permanent display at the EAA AirVenture Museum and through the website.

EAA Chapter 1279 (Murrieta) and Friends of the Fallbrook Community Airpark combine their efforts and conduct Young Eagle flight rallies twice a year at the Fallbrook Airpark.

The dates typically fall on a Saturday in the months of April and October. Information regarding the Young Eagles program may be found at www.youngeagles.org.

Answers to questions regarding our local program may be directed to our Coordinator, Peter Griffiths, at peter.griffiths@roadrunner.com or (951) 775-8909.

Just before taking off, one girl to one pilot per plane
Left to right: Suzetty Castellanos, Andrea Acevedo, Ayu Hartono, and Lee Leal

Below: Suzetty with her pilot, right; they flew over the ocean and saw a school of dolphins, as well as two eagles.

Our final group party for this school year will be Saturday, June 9th. We will be celebrating our graduating seniors, inviting former mentees to come talk about their experiences in college and, most importantly, we’ll be celebrating our year together as a very special group. I hope you’ll all be able to attend! We’ll meet at 11:30 am for a potluck lunch (provided by the mentors, of course!) and cake at one of the mentors’ houses.

Karen Langer Baker, Chair
AAUW Mentoring Program

Getting ready for scholarship night!
Kathy Bierbrauer, Marj Freda, and Chris Young arrive at the Palomares House laden with flowers for display. Volunteers from AAUW Fallbrook are always on hand to support the activities of the group.

 

 

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SPEECH TREK CONTEST

The Mentoring Group’s Speech Trek contest was held Friday evening, January 26, in the community room at the library. Ten girls from our mentoring program participated as speakers.

 

Speech Trek Winners

Speech Trek Participants