A Two-Year Relationship With A Four-Year Impact

When Jada White's mentor Nicole moved to Seattle, her cousin, Mary Kate Fulghum, jumped right in.

Right out of the gate, mentor-scholar relationships can be a bit awkward sometimes. Attempting to create a life-changing relationship from scratch is a start-and-stop ride for most mentors. But not for Mary Kate! She dove in head first. During their first outing, Mary Kate introduced Jada to her family. From there she built on the things that they shared in common: basketball, food, and art.

Mary Kate was able to support Jada, who is a basketball player for the Holy Trinity High School Lady Tigers, by showing up to watch her play and routinely celebrating her success with a pizza dinner at their favorite spot -- Roots Pizza. “It was during those moments that she really opened up to me and I loved it,” Mary Kate recalled.

“It is hard to get someone to open up, so you have to be patient, dig in, and be willing to try anything!” said Mary Kate. Jada says Mary Kate is always there for her and and admires that she is a strong woman, but also funny and outgoing. There relationship is clearly special to them, and full of love.