Grades are a tremendously important topic with the YELLS mentor students. To be a YELLS mentor student, you must maintain a good GPA. The facilitators do not want mentors who are not doing well in school mentoring elementary school kids. Makes sense. So I would go around every Tuesday and ask, “hows the grades this week?” At first, the responses were subpar, “oh, I am not doing the best in math,” or “yeah, don’t ask Mr. Cameron.” However, I started noticing something significant towards the middle of the year— they started to eagerly tell me their successes in school. “Mr. Cameron, I just aced my history test!” I would hear this and be attacked with high fives while I walked in 10 minutes late. Furthermore, with several students graduating high school soon, every time a student announces they have been accepted into college we all celebrate. A huge congratulations are bestowed on that individual with an entire room full of supportive friends surrounding them.