CTN Leadership Fellow and Ascender instructor, Diane Lerma, published an article in the San Antonio Express News on January 16th, titled “Commentary: A little mentoring goes a long way.” In the article, Lerma writes about the need for mentors and mentoring students. She states, “Students are resilient, but they need an extra dose of hope. Students need someone to challenge and inspire them. That someone could be you.”
Lerma also writes about being part of the Ascender program at Palo Alto College since 2012. “This program helped me compile our mentors’ testimonials into a book, “Catching Dreams: A Collection of Inspiring Mentor Stories.” In the book, mentors share stories of how they overcame their own challenges and inspired students to transform their setbacks into comebacks. The book is now available on Amazon, and all royalties are donated for student scholarships.”