Every January, Take Stock in Children celebrates National Mentoring Month, acknowledging the life-changing impact that our network of volunteer mentors have on the students in our program statewide. We wanted to share a special moment from Alycia Corpiel, a Take Stock Brevard alum (2007), who made a post in memorial of the program grad’s former mentor, Esther Sherman.
“My mentor, Esther Sherman, passed away last year. She was in her mid-80s. She was my mentor from 2001-2007, and we stayed in touch until 2016 when we, unfortunately, lost contact due to her dementia and being moved to a senior home. I looked for her for years and finally found her daughter last January, who told me how she had declined. When Esther passed in April, her daughter sent me a death announcement in the mail.”
“The biggest thing she did was be a consistent, stable person in my life when I really didn’t have others. I really miss her very much.”
“Esther was so good to me.” Alycia shared. “She signed up for Big Brothers Big Sisters so we could have a closer relationship. She took me to Red Lobster and the zoo, and her partner sold me my first car for nothing. I walked her beagle for extra money, and years after I graduated from high school, I visited her at her new home in Virginia. But the biggest thing she did was be a consistent, stable person in my life when I really didn’t have others. I really miss her very much.”
Esther’s impact on Alycia’s life also influenced the alum to become a Take Stock mentor as well later in life. Alycia shared gratitude, saying, “Thank you, Esther. I hope you know how much you really did for me when I needed it most. Inspired by Esther, I have mentored three very smart girls with bright futures ahead of them. All decided to attend Eastern Florida State College, and then the University of Central Florida, and all are taking classes and living at home or on campus. I’m extremely proud of them.”
Thank you, Alycia, for sharing your Take Stock story with your mentor, Esther. Mentor-mentee stories like these are the heart of Take Stock’s 30 years of scholarships, mentors, and hope. On behalf of Take Stock Nation, we honor Esther Sherman’s service, and may her memory be a blessing.