Since 2012, LWHS has orchestrated joint mentorship programs between Lick students of color and younger students at San Francisco Day School and the Live Oak School — the Pact program for boys and Rise, the equivalent for girls. The students get together a few times a month to share a meal, go to museums, do service work, or just explore the city.
“Pact” comes from the title of a book about three African American friends who grew up together, and made a pact to carry each other through struggle and celebration. “Rise” comes from Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise,” which comments on the struggle facing women of color and how it’s important to overcome them.
Pact was founded four years ago by Nate Lundy, Lick’s former Assistant Head of Admissions, in conjunction with Christy Godinez, Lick’s Director of Student Inclusion and Civic Engagement, and Loren Moyé, a teacher at San Francisco Day School. Three years ago when Lundy was leaving Lick, he asked Shaun Lopez, a history teacher at Lick, to take over his advisory role in order to ensure the program’s survival. Betsy Brody, SFDS’ high school admissions counselor, and Moyé now run the program on the SFDS side. Moyé describes how he roams the halls looking for students who might benefit from the program. If he finds a student who he thinks would be a good match, he then talks with their teachers and parents. Brody finds herself taking the backseat as she doesn’t identify as a women of color; she considers herself an ally. The main purpose of the faculty advisors is to organize and facilitate events as well as being there to support the students. When asked about the founding of the program, Godinez says that Michael Mancini, former head of San Francisco Day School, approached her and said that he had students who were really struggling, in particular boys of color. The school was attempting to put all these systems in place yet none of them were working. As a solution, he asked if Lick had any boys who would be willing to mentor younger students. The timing was perfect as just a few years prior to the creation of Pact, Lick founded AIF, a club for men of color. Lopez says that Pact sought to build on the principles of AIF, empowering men of color by giving them leadership opportunities that would hopefully translate into life at Lick. Many of the male students who led AIF became the first generation of mentors for Pact. Lopez continues, saying that Pact now serves as a way for “Lick boys of color to be supported, as our school has it’s own patterns of segregation and the boys of colors at our school are not always in the loop in terms of leadership opportunities.” Pact was successful enough that they decided that a girls group made sense too, and so Rise was born and is now in its second year of existence.
Although 59% of Lick students identify as people of color, Lopez talks about how race appears as an issue in the Lick community. “I often feel like Lick’s challenge is two things. One, is that we think that because we are more diverse than our peer institutions, we don’t have the same problems that the rest of the world faces. But the reality is, we do. Because we often see ourselves as more progressive on matters, such as racial divides, than other private schools, we think we don’t have trouble dealing with them. We aren’t as honest with ourselves as we need to be. I think it’s one thing to admit a diverse class, and it’s another thing to make it work in the community.” This experience and racial divide is not unique to Lick. Lopez comments that “Lick is more diverse than most independent schools. So in schools like SFDS or Live Oak, it’s often the case that the brown or black kid is one of twenty in a class. Many Lick students reported that when they were at independent middle schools they often felt isolated.” Rise and Pact aim to help support both these Lick kids and grade school students who feel the isolation from their peers. Lopez continues, “The idea was how can we provide support for kids who might feel a little isolated and are beginning to discover their racial identity but don’t really know what to do with it because they’re not around people who are going through a similar experience.”
Audrey Neri ‘17 joined the Rise program in her sophomore year, when it was just beginning. Reflecting on her reasons for joining, she says “the program needed people to jump-start it and a lot of my friends who hang out in the Center were doing it.” Neri says she was interested in the program because “I didn’t go to a private middle school but I understand how coming to a place like Lick might be hard for young girls.” She’s become really close with the girl she was initially paired with and says that “it’s been cool to watch her grow up.” For Neri, the program has made her feel like she’s able to make a small difference in someone’s life. “When I was my mentee’s age and in her position, this program and kind of support may have helped me. I think it would’ve given me some insight into what it’s like to be an older student of color.”
Mai DaSilva, a 7th grader at SFDS, has been a member of Rise since its inception. She says that the program has helped her feel more secure because she’s always safe when she’s with Pact/Rise. She takes comfort in knowing there is someone else she can relate to. DaSilva describes her experience saying, “My favorite part of the program is making new friends and doing activities with them. I like being part of this experience because we can be ourselves and are able to address issues that we feel at school or anywhere.”
Kabir McNeely, a 6th grader at SFDS, says sharing meals with Pact mentors are his favorite moments. He loves them as he gets to connect with his fellow members of the program. “Sparking conversations over a meal is where I learn the most about other people and myself. I make connections I hadn’t realized were there.” He also feels that the program has affected him in the long run. “It helps me with my communication skills. Unless I know someone well, I am very shy. But, I’m not sensitive and shy around the Pact/Rise kids. They are my allies and I have a bond of trust with most of them. I can look up to them.”
Rise and Pact have both come a long way since their foundings. Godinez speaks about what she hopes for the future. “We are coming to a point where a number of elementary and middle schools have reached out to me, asking to participate in the Pact/Rise program.” However, she adds that Lick just doesn’t have enough mentors to participate for the number of mentees as of right now, yet alone if the program was to expand. In the past, she has reached out to some other high schools, asking for them to participate as mentors. However, many have responded saying they don’t have the critical mass. Lick does indeed have critical mass: a high enough number of students of color in an independent school to bring attention. Godinez says that, “My hope is to see other high schools push themselves to be diverse across all core identifiers; race, class, gender, and ability, so that more schools can start to mentor.” Godinez adds that she “wants the programs to continue to become stronger and stronger so we can present this model to schools.” Similarly, Moyé hopes to keep momentum going in the upcoming years.
Although Lick puts emphasis on being a diverse and inclusive community, racial and social divides continue to be an issue. With this in mind, programs like Pact/Rise are established to work towards the goals of helping students of color feel more comfortable, inside the classroom and in the greater world, and allow younger generations to break cycles of division. It can be difficult to find the words and place to talk about struggles with racial identity, but through this program, both mentors and mentees can become more comfortable in their own skin.
