Big Brothers Big Sisters honorees build bonds with their littles
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Life is full of choices.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire has long endeavored to help those in its care make better ones.
A relationship between a “big” and a “little” begins with a series of choices — a family’s to enroll a child, a volunteer’s to become a mentor, and many more once they are put together.
It becomes a matter of choosing each other again and again, much like the stability built through a long-term relationship.
Ian and Durrah Wagner joined Big Brothers Big Sisters through a program dedicated to such couples. A couple that has been together for at least two years may mentor a child.
For the Wagners, who met in 2017, their service with the organization has represented a new relationship milestone, and it has given them new found joy.
Durrah described significant steps in their relationship, from adopting a dog, to buying a house, to moving to Orange County. In the past two years, another big step has been mentoring Emiliano, now a 9-year-old in fourth grade at Davis Elementary in Santa Ana.
“There were many things we didn’t know we would benefit from this relationship blooming,” Durrah said. “It is such a big transition age. When we met him, he was like a little boy, but I think, had the maturity of a 50-year-old, at times. Sometimes, he would be more mature than us. Just physically, he’s changed so much.”
On the unexpected benefits through their two-year journey together, Durrah shared that they were able to join Emiliano’s family in communion.
“We saw what it was that his mom shared with us the first time we met her,” Durrah added. “She said, ‘We may not have very much, but we have family, and we like to share.’”
Emiliano, who enjoys history and playing guitar, is in the midst of learning about the surrounding area. His bigs have taken it upon themselves to introduce him to different parts of the county. A ride on a train, a mode of transportation he has never taken, is in the works to travel south to San Juan Capistrano.
There have also been trips to the movies, visits to libraries, museums and a soccer game. In these adventures, Emiliano has felt free to share what he liked and what he did not, learning to find his voice.
Emiliano arrived to the Santa Ana office Tuesday afternoon, a big smile on his face as he entered the room and joined his big couple. That youthful energy remained as he sat down to talk. He spun hither and thither in a chair as he talked about his experience in the program.
“We talked for like five or 10 minutes,” Emiliano said of the first time he met his big couple. “We talked about science, we talked about different things. My expectations were low, but they blew my expectations, how nice they were and how generous.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters recently named Ian and Durrah its Mentors of the Year.
“A secret that is not one that I’m a fan of holding, is we have a big couples program,” said Sloane Keane, chief executive of Big Brothers Big Sisters Orange County and the Inland Empire. “In our community program, if you and your significant other are in a committed relationship, you can do this together. I think it’s really great that we’re honoring a big couple this year, because in life, particularly with the youth we serve — over half of them do come from a single-parent household — really modeling what an organic and strong relationship looks like is sometimes just enough, in and of itself, and then the support that comes along with it.”
Participation in the program also drew out new stories from those close to the volunteers.
“It’s interesting as we share our story with other people,” Ian said. “You hear, like, ‘Oh, I was a big.’ My dad did it for a year when he was growing up. I had no idea. We got that story out. Then you talk to other people and you hear about it. It’s got a really strong brand out there, not just here, but across the U.S.”
Jessica Lam, a recent graduate of Cal State Fullerton, was also recognized as the big for Yaitza, a sophomore at Tustin High.
“Doing this program has helped me not only learn how to become a better leader for my community, but also how to demonstrate leadership that I’ve learned in college to my mentorship in this very moment,” Lam said. “Even though I have an older sister, there are things that I can reflect on from what she’s taught me to what I can apply for my relationship with Yaitza.
“I’m glad that I got to have a match that is supportive, that is proactive, and I want Yaitza to reach all goals that she has in mind, especially going into high school. She’s about to start taking her [driver’s license] permit test, her driver’s ed[ucation]. … Anything that I’ve gone through in my life is also something I can teach her.”
The big-little sister act also enjoys the small things, like hanging out over boba and a shared interest in music. Lam wants to ensure Yaitza prioritizes her education, but once in a while, they go big on fun. They attended the Weeknd’s After Hours til Dawn Tour at SoFi Stadium last year.
Yaitza pushed back on joining the community program initially. She laughs when she thinks about it now.
“My mom, she was like, ‘You need to do this. It’s such a good thing. You get to have a big sister,’” Yaitza said. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to meet someone new. It’s going to take away from my weekends.’ I was, like, ‘What if I get someone I don’t like. She’s not going to like the same things I do.’
“But it was literally, like, perfect. I went in. We liked everything ... the same things, and I literally couldn’t have asked for a better [big].”
Bigs and littles are matched after all parties involved are interviewed, including the adult enrolling the child, the youth and the volunteer.
Tram Nguyen of Buena Park High and Christian Hernandez of Western High were honored as the Mentors of the Year for the high school bigs program.
Jennifer Wiegman of Ingram Micro and Simir Shah of Google were named the Mentors of the Year for the workplace mentoring program.
“The support team nominates those volunteers who go above and beyond,” Keane said of the Mentors of the Year honors. “That [considers] the way that they have interacted with their youth, and potentially the way they involve themselves in other aspects of what we do. Maybe it’s recruiting, maybe it’s fundraising, but in all aspects, these are mentors who have gone above and beyond what is already an exceptional service to their community.”
In its 2025 annual report, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire announced it provided services for 4,153 youth and 852 families. It had 2,773 volunteers to help carry out its mentoring mission. The organization totaled 2,875 matches across its community, high school bigs, and workplace mentoring programs.
