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Tiered Community Mentoring Program enters into fifth year

Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013
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Tiered Community Mentoring Program teams meet at the Oct. 24 kick-off event. Photos by Jason Scally.

The Massachusetts Bar Association's Tiered Community Mentoring Program entered into its fifth year with new and returning attorney mentors and students mentees. This year, the program was expanded from 40 to nearly 50 participants.

The TCM initiative, the idea of Chief Justice of the Probate and Family Court Angela M. Ordoñez, matches practicing attorneys with students from local high schools, colleges and law schools. The participating schools are New Mission High School in Hyde Park, Roxbury Community College, Northeastern University and Suffolk University Law School. In 2011, the program was honored with the 2011 ABA Partnership Award from the American Bar Association because of its commitment to diversity.

On October 24, MBA President Douglas K. Sheff welcomed this year's group and emphasized the importance of both mentoring and networking as they complete their education and move into the professional world. Sheff spoke of his father, attorney Irving "Chick" Sheff, who began mentoring him at a very young age, a time when the younger Sheff did not necessarily want to be mentored. Now as an adult and an attorney, Sheff said he has come to realize how valuable that education was for him.

During the morning part of the program, past and current mentee participant Charrell Hendricks spoke to the group about how worthwhile this program was for her and that it had benefitted her significantly as she continued her pursuit of her college degree. She emphasized how valuable it was being a part of this large group and, more specifically, her team made up of an attorney mentor, a law student and high school student. Hendricks said participating in the TCM Program improved her self confidence and gave her the resources to pursue her professional endeavors.

The kick-off event concluded with a trip to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Bunker located in Framingham. The group was given a tour of the facility and an in-depth overview of the responsibilities of MEMA by the Public Information Officer Peter Judge.