Molly Shore
Every other week, five Warner Bros. Studios employees take two hours
out of their workdays to make the short trip to the Community Day
School on San Fernando Road. At the school, they have lunch and spend
time with five troubled students in a mentorship program that began
there in September.
At last week’s session, mentor Lisa Rawlins, senior vice president
of studio and production affairs, visited with 15-year-old Hollie
Roth.
“We’ve been together since just before Christmas. We’re still
getting to know each other, and then we’ll hit the town,” Rawlins
said.
Hollie will be invited to the studio’s lot, Rawlins said, and she
plans to take Hollie to some of the community events she attends.
Hollie said she looks forward to her visits from Rawlins.
“Lisa tries to get me involved and to talk a lot more,” the teen
said.
Although Lisa is not shy, she and the other students in the
program have problems communicating with adults, Principal Christine
Krone said. Often their problems stem from adults in their lives who
are overbearing and judgmental, Krone said.
Tony LoRe, president of Youth Mentoring Connection, coordinates
the mentorship program between Warner Bros. and the school.
“The kids live by the ‘Youth Miranda’ rule,” LoRe said.
“Everything they say will be used against them, because that’s been
their experience with adults. Students who have mentors are more apt
to take advantage of the opportunities around them.”
He said that students who are mentored ask for tutors more often
because they do not want to let their mentors down. Additionally,
they have better school attendance, are more apt to stay away from
drugs, and are less likely to be teen parents, LoRe said.
“The kids need consistency in their lives, and the mentors provide
that just by coming every other Wednesday, said Gisele Moncure,
Warner’s Employee Initiatives Manager, who coordinates the program at
the studio.
