PEAK Mentor Fred O'Connor and Scholar Ernie Chavez Win Match of the Year Award

PEAK is excited to announce that Fred O'Connor and his junior mentee Ernie Chavez have won the Match of the Year Award for the 2016 IMPACT Awards. The IMPACT Awards is a statewide recognition event to honor companies, organizations and key individuals making a difference in mentoring. They are presented by the Illinois Mentoring Partnership, which is a non profit dedicated to expanidng the quaility and quanitity of mentoring relationships for children and youth in Illinois.

Ernie will get the opportunity to co-host the awards alongside reporter Leanna Trotter of NBC news. Fred and Ernie are a perfect match. Fred, a father of three, devotes a significant amount of time to mentoring Ernie. Fred's guidance has given Ernie academic and professional direction and encouraged Ernie;s love of animals by helping him get an internship at the Shedd Aquarium last summer, an experience Ernie hopes to repeat this summer.