On January 26, 2007 the New York City Mentoring Program (NYCMP) celebrated National Mentoring Month by recognizing mentor Rocco Laginestra and mentee Christopher Vargas, the 2007 Mentor-Mentee Pair of the Year. Chancellor Klein attended the reception held at the Department of Education and greeted and congratulated the pair. “It would be a tremendous gift to New York City and its students if more caring adults stepped up and got involved like you have with Christopher. You should both be proud of your incredible efforts,” noted Chancellor Klein.

Rocco and Christopher have been paired together for the past three years through NYCMP’s partnership program between CB Richard Ellis and Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School in the Bronx. The pair has discussed everything from sports to college and career and meets regularly to explore new experiences such as eating Japanese food and visiting museums. Christopher considers Rocco not only a teacher but a role model who pushes him to become more confident and successful. “Rocco has simply taught me how to learn by going through experiences and coming out of them with a positive outlook regardless of the obstacles,” reflects Christopher. Rocco feels that it is the new experiences that occur from the mentoring relationship that are the most valuable. “Sharing our time together is something that cannot be replaced and has been a great learning experience for both of us,” says Rocco. To read more about Rocco and Christopher’s mentoring experience, click here.

This was the first year that the New York City Mentoring Program had a competition for the Mentor-Mentee Pair of the Year based on coordinator nominations. Nominated pairs submitted testimonials and were judged on the longevity and quality of the mentoring relationship. Mentee Christopher Vargas will receive a $1,000 award for college, courtesy of NYCMP’s award sponsor, the Mentoring Tree Foundation. Lara Holliday and Florence Dupont, co-founders of the Mentoring Tree Foundation, were at the reception to honor and congratulate Rocco and Christopher, as well as Christopher’s mother, the nominating coordinator, and other Department of Education employees.