Saint Ignatius students mentor Ohio City youth

Zach Valletta, '13 and his "Little." Corionte

When school bells ring across Ohio City, many local students are making productive use of their time. They’re joining Saint Ignatius High School students for after-school programs over the course of the school year.

From Monday through Thursday, students in the third through eighth grades join nine after-school programs on the St. Ignatius campus. These programs recently concluded until the start of the school year in September, yet the relationships built through these mentoring programs remain as vibrant memories for everyone involved. 

These after-school programs, which are offered by the Arrupe Neighborhood Partnership at Saint Ignatius, include Science Olympiad and LEGO Robotics, through which younger kids learn to conduct science experiments and program LEGO robotics using computers; Cat Pack, a boys’ sports program coached by Ignatius students; Homework Club, an after-school tutoring program; Strings, a program teaching music and theory of violin; and ReMix, which promotes meaningful interaction through arts, service, technology and games.

The oldest participants in these offerings are active in the Arrupe Explorers program, in which Ignatius students guide them to prepare for future life decisions.

The most focused one-on-one relationships occur in Bigs & Littles, a mentoring program where Ignatius students are paired with students during the school year.
Senior Zack Valletta is one of the 12 students who dedicated their year to mentoring.

“Last school year, I was always groggy on Wednesdays, filled with thoughts of the never-ending week,” says Valletta. “This year, I changed my view by joining Bigs & Littles. This year-long Arrupe program has allowed me to develop many relationships that make me look forward to ‘hump day’ and give me extra energy to get out of bed in the morning. As part of this program, I’ve engaged a 5th grader who loves football and have worked with high school students experiencing this awesome program with me.”

Valletta continues, “As for me, I am paired up each week with a Little named Corionte.  Recently, I had the pleasure of watching Corionte learn to ice skate for the very first time. The pure joy in his smile as he learned to skate is reason enough for all of the effort and time that I put into the program each week. Seeing a young boy try out new things right before my eyes is amazing because I see first-hand the impact I can have on the world.

I joined Bigs and Littles with the idea of making a difference in someone else’s life and I could not have been more mistaken. Corionte has done more for me than I will ever be able to do for him. He’s taught me life lessons that I would never have learned if I hadn’t met him.  I love Wednesdays at Arrupe House and look forward to next year.”
Interested in becoming involved in Arrupe? We are always seeking new volunteers. For more information, visit the website at www.ignatius.edu/arrupe. The Arrupe House is located at 2071 West 30th Street.