Michael Davis, a managing director for JPMorgan Fleming, became interested in education - especially the dropout issues in the Dallas Independent School District - after moving back to Dallas after being away for 15 years. "I got involved with the Advisory Council (of the Greater Dallas Chamber) but wanted a more direct impact on the kids," Davis said.

Around the same time of Davis's return to Dallas, a new program began in Dallas ISD to tackle the dropout issue. Dallas ISD, in cooperation with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, launched the DISD Youth Mentoring Initiative to target ninth grade students in schools where the dropout rate is significant. The Greater Dallas Chamber also became a major partner of locating potential mentors. Dr. Mike Moses, superintendent of DISD, has placed Youth Mentoring as his number one priority for community and business involvement.

"I grew up in Oak Cliff and wanted to give back to the kids there," Davis said. So Davis joined in.

Davis was impressed by the support given by both Dallas ISD and Big Brothers/Big Sisters during the program. Potential mentors attend a one-hour training session provided by Big Brothers/Big Sisters. All mentors also receive a background check and 45-minute face-to-face interview by Big Brothers/Big Sisters prior to attending a training session. From there, Dallas ISD matches the mentor with a student.

"There was a constructive spirit on both sides to make the program the best," Davis said. "I had a case manager who would check in to see how things were going (and) Dallas ISD was great about following up."

The commitment for the Youth Mentoring program is mentoring once a week for a one-hour session. Davis explained, "I travel a lot but the commitment seemed doable."

In fact, Davis has increased his commitment over time as he became more involved with his student. "His academic performance was a symptom of other issues," Davis said. "A lot of kids don't see professionals or have them in the family to make them think they are going to college." Davis believed it was important for him to be consistent in order to build trust with his student.

Davis explained that his perspective has changed now that he has mentored. "I had read about it and hear about it, but now I have a better perspective on the challenges these kids face."

Davis said that mentoring will make you reflect on yourself as a person and what is important to you as a person. "You have about 70 years to live, which isn't a lot of time," he said. "What legacy do you want to leave behind?"

When asked how Davis would explain his mentoring experience to other business professionals, Davis said that mentoring allowed him to directly benefit someone else's daily life. He said that mentoring "is the most challenging thing you will ever do but by far the most rewarding (and) the reward will exceed your expectations."

For more information on how to become a mentor, please contact Whitney Williams at 214- 746-6741 or wwilliams@dallaschamber.org.