TEMPLE, Texas — Temple Independent School District’s Wildcat Mentor program closed out its 16th year of impacting students’ lives with an end of year celebration at the Ralph Wilson Youth Club on Thursday (May 14).
More than 110 students and their mentors gathered at the youth club for a meal and a few more hours of fun to close out the 2025-2026 school year. The program pairs up an adult volunteer from the community or the district with a Temple ISD fourth or fifth grader to provide companionship, support, and positive role models throughout the school year. The program not only has a positive impact on the students involved, but it also leaves a lasting impression on the mentors. That is why many of the volunteers return to the program year after year. Scott Seela is one of those mentors who has been with the program since the beginning. He says there is one easy answer to the question of why he keeps volunteering.
“Serving the kids, that’s why I keep coming back. We have awesome students in Temple ISD,” Seela said. “They are the ones making the impact, every kid has some struggles, but things are getting better and each student I’ve worked with brings hope. I would tell people to try volunteering, you will like it.”
Mentors are expected to spend at least two hours a month with their student to support efforts to empower the mentees to make positive choices and enable them to maximize their personal potential. Thursday’s event gave the mentors a final chance to connect with their students this school year and have some fun through the variety of activities set up across Ralph Wilson Youth Club. It also gave them another chance to reflect on what the program means to all who participate in Wildcat Mentors each year.
“Today is about perseverance for everyone in the program because they have put in a lot of work building relationships this year,” said Bre’Layshia Alexander, President of the Wildcat Mentor board, a member of the Temple ISD Board of Trustees, and now in her eighth year with the program. “Growing up in Temple, I feel like I was allowed to be a kid, but not all of these students have had that opportunity. Every kid needs someone they can talk to who will encourage them along the way. It really does take a village, and I feel like Wildcat Mentors can be that village for some of our students.”
The Wildcat Mentor program will return for year #17 in 2026-2027. The program is already accepting applications for volunteers to be mentors for next year. To learn more about the Wildcat Mentor program or to volunteer to serve as a mentor, visit the program’s page on the Temple ISD website at the following link: WILDCAT MENTORS – Wildcat Mentors – Temple Independent School District (tisd.org). Persons interested in serving as mentors may also reach out to Yara Thomas at [email protected] or by phone at (254) 215-6957. Volunteers wishing to be mentors will undergo background checks before being approved to work with students.