Little Brother Russell Lands in College

Big Brother Mario was lucky growing up. He lived in a rough neighborhood where he was exposed to all the problems of such places: gangs, drugs, alcohol, teen pregnancy, and lack of interest in school. Mario managed to avoid these things due to solid role models starting with his parents. (good job Mario’s parents) They watched over him and took a real interest in ensuring he succeeded and got an education. (no dropping out for Mario)

Soon Mario was off to the University of Texas at Austin where he discovered that he often was the only Hispanic student in his class. He began to realize how lucky he was to have had such a good support system and such excellent role models as his parents. He decided that he could be a wonderful role model for some needy youth. (and he certainly has made a difference) So what did he do? He went off to the best youth mentoring organization in the world ... or maybe even the universe ... and contacted us, Big Brothers Big Sisters.

We matched Big Mario up with Little Brother Russell. Russell has had some tragedies in his life. One older brother was killed in a gang shooting. His other older brother struggled in school and never finished and ended up in prison. His father left the family when he was young. Way too much tragedy for such a young person (or anyone) to have to face. It’s no surprise that Russell’s aspirations were pretty low. But Mario soon fixed that.

It was difficult at first. Russell was often discouraged. However Big Mario was never discouraged. He encouraged Russell, talked to him, took him places, coached him, and mostly just listened and was his friend. Since they’ve been together for over seven years (now that’s nice to hear) there have been lots of discussions. Most importantly, as Russell’s mother Bonnie says, Mario has included Russell in his life. They’ve shared personal losses (and successes), discussed the consequences of their actions, and gone to many of Mario’s family gatherings.

And they talked. About everything. In Little Brother Russell’s own words “Mario has helped me think about things. I’ve been with him when he lost his health and he has been with me when I lost my brother. He has talked to me about school and girls and growing up, and he told me how it was for him.” Fine words Russell.

Seeing how successful Mario is has inspired Russell to raise his expectations. He has stayed in school and has graduated. (congratulations Russell) Not only that, he’s finishing his first year of college right now. (congratulations again Russell) After he graduates he wants to be a lawyer. Way to go Russell.

It’s been a wondrous experience for Mario too. It’s been fun and filled with feelings of accomplishment. He is just so proud of Russell. And so are we. Proud of both of them. It makes us proud to have these outstanding fellows as part of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Thank you both for sharing this wonderful story. We look forward to seeing that picture or Russell and Mario together as Russell graduates as a brand new lawyer.