Making a difference in our communities through leadership development is one of our key focus areas at Comcast NBCUniversal, and is a core value to many of our employees across New Mexico. As National Mentoring Month is underway, we want to highlight one of our employees who understands the impact a mentor can have on someone’s life.
As Bigs, we work hard to motivate and inspire our Littles. Spending my lunch hour with her twice a month is an honor and the hour flies by whether we are coloring, making a craft or just talking. It helps me reset my day as I listen to her and I return to the office feeling grateful for the blessings in my life, especially her.”
Stephanie Abramo is one of the many employees in Arizona who volunteer their time to serve as positive role models for young students in our community. January is National Mentoring Month and, we’d like to recognize the difference our teammates are making through our Beyond School Walls workplace-based mentorship program in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona.
This year we have 17 matches in our Beyond School Walls program, where students from Prince Elementary School, a high-need school, are paired with Comcast employees to meet for an hour every other week during the school year at our Comcast office. By bringing students into our offices, they get the opportunity to explore workplace environments and career paths they may not have been familiar with otherwise. Surveys conducted at the end of the program’s 2018 – 2019 school year showed that more than 90 percent of student “Littles” maintained or improved their grades in school; their expectations about what the future holds for their education; and the strong bonds with their families.
Comcast is uniquely positioned to increase technology access by expanding digital skills within our communities. Each Little in our program was awarded an iPad to provide additional opportunities for students to learn and explore all the digital economy has to offer them.
When she opened the iPad, she got tears in her eyes and said, ‘This is the nicest thing I have ever owned. I promise I will take really good care of it!’”
For more than a decade employee “Bigs” across our regions have been helping to make a difference in the lives of their student “Littles” – more than 1,200 Comcast employees have participated in the program since it launched. And currently, there are more than 300 matches throughout 14 Comcast offices nationwide.
Interested in becoming a mentor? Reach out to Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Southern Arizona to learn more.
