TeamMates of the Month: AJ and Philip

April 1, 2025

Building with Your Heart 

Even though Philip works with kids as a part of his job, it took time to realize he could be a TeamMates mentor too.

“I decided that instead of just thinking about how there's not enough matches for the kids who are waiting for one, I should be a match for somebody. I really hit the jackpot getting matched with AJ.”

The way AJ describes it makes it sound a little like destiny. A self-described “lonely kid” who was getting bullied and navigating some hard things at home, he had high hopes.

“I thought my mentor would be really super nice, outgoing, kind. And he was all those things. I said to myself, ‘Finally, I have someone to talk to.’”

In contrast, Philip went in with no specific expectations.

“I was just really excited to get to know AJ, to meet him and find out what he was interested in, what kinds of things he liked to do. It was pretty  clear that we had a lot of the same interests and wanted to do a lot of the same things.”

Being part of a strengths-based program, Philip and AJ have a clear sense of each other’s strengths. For example, Philip knows that AJ takes pride in his school and cares about building relationships.

“He's great at recognizing what other people are feeling or what other people are thinking about. He asks me questions that make me think.” 

AJ adds that he is a budding musician and vocalist. In fact, he is hoping to be a band teacher one day.

Musical ability is one of the things Philip doesn’t share with AJ.

“Yeah, I’m a tenor,” says Philip. “People want to be tenor more miles away when I sing.

According to AJ that’s another gift Philip brings, a sense of humor, and the fact that he’s a builder.

“Philip is just so nice. He can build something just with his heart, including relationships.”

Philip says the chance to build a one-on-one relationship is one of the things that makes TeamMates so worthwhile. 

“I think you get so much out of it, just in terms of personally being able to connect with  someone who's younger and just really enjoy the fun things that you get to do. I have learned I am not totally out of touch with the middle-school age.”

You can learn more about Lincoln TeamMates at https://lincolnteammates.org/.

 

 

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