Rewards of mentoring

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Cathie Dull, director of development and recruitment for Discoveries Unlimited, talks with possible future mentors during a “Be a STEM Mentor” night at the United Way of Porter County in Valparaiso, Ind. | Scott M. Bort~Sun-Times Media

Updated: October 31, 2011 1:28PM

Adam Rengstorf teaches physics and astronomy at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond.

He started participating in Discoveries Unlimited when the program first started in January 2010, mentoring a middle-school age girl with an interest in science. The two still have a mentoring relationship.

“It was an ideal match,” said Rengstorf, who lives in Valparaiso. “She was interested in astronomy.”

Working at the university, Rengstorf knew how to teach, but he didn’t really have any idea on what being a mentor was until he got involved with Discoveries Unlimited, which pairs middle-school girls with professionals in the STEM professions — science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

He was pleased to give back to the community.

“It’s very satisfying to be able to talk to this young girl who’s interested in what I’m interested in,” he said during a June 29 open house for Discoveries Unlimited.

The program targets girls in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, pairing them with mentors and sponsoring a wide array of regular activities. Though most of the participating girls have been from Valparaiso, there are several girls from surrounding communities.

“Since we’ve been doing this, we’ve mentored 40 girls and over half have stayed with their mentor relationship a year or longer,” said Catherine Dull, the not-for-profit’s director of development and recruitment.

The organization hopes to recruit 20 new mentors this summer from a variety of fields, from radiologists to engineers. Ultimately, Dull said, the program would like to expand throughout the region.

Certified public accountant Danielle Heskett of Valparaiso came to the open house to learn more about the program, and possibly sign up as a mentor. She comes from a family of scientists and has three sons who have been naturally interested in science, and thinks it would be cool to mentor a girl.

“Some of these events sound pretty fun,” she said.