I wouldn’t have done that without you

I've watched Anna grow from a scholarship candidate into someone who knows her own mind. Sitting across from her at lunch this week, alongside her mentor Kelly, that transformation was impossible to miss.

Anna caught us up on everything she's been building: the clubs she's joined, her housing plans for next year, a medical shadowing program she was just accepted into. Listening to her talk, it was hard not to feel like you were watching someone come into her own right before your eyes.

But the moment I keep coming back to happened quietly, in the middle of conversation. Anna laughed and turned to Kelly and said, "I wouldn't have done that without you." They were talking about her finding the confidence to walk away from a relationship that wasn't right for her anymore. Not academics. Not a resume line. Life.

Such a simple moment. But it said everything.

Kelly isn't just mentoring Anna through coursework. She is walking beside her through the bigger questions, helping her grow into the confident young woman she is becoming.

Later, when the conversation turned to what SOS could do with unlimited resources, Kelly looked at Anna and said, "What do you think? Your opinion is just as important as ours."

That is the magic of mentorship.

Real transformation doesn't happen in isolation. It happens in relationships. It happens when someone believes in you, listens to you, and reminds you that your voice matters.

Your support makes it possible for our mentors to walk alongside our scholars — not just academically, but through all of it. In community. In trust. In relationships that say, you don't have to figure this out alone.

And I am so grateful you make it possible.

With gratitude,

Ginny