Mentor Spotlight: Kamilah White
This month we’re pleased to shine the Mentor Spotlight on Kamilah White.
Four years ago, Kamilah started out with her Scholar Tamron Scott (a recent Class of 2026 graduate of Intrinsic Schools–Downtown Campus) when Tamron was just a freshman, and she has seen Tamron’s confidence and willingness to open up bloom over the years. “LINK has taught me the importance of being consistent and committed with my Mentee,” Kamilah said. “It’s about building trust and showing up.”
Despite both Kamilah and Tamron being naturally quiet, they built a close bond by accepting each other as they were and sharing experiences like attending NBA, White Sox, and Blackhawks games, as well as trying new foods. Kamilah is most proud of seeing Tamron reach her senior year and hone in on a career path she is truly passionate about.
The highlight of Kamilah’s year was navigating the college preparation process and going on campus visits with Tamron. She described the experience as eye-opening, noting the high cost and competitiveness of today’s higher education, but also discovering the vast amount of resources available to help remove financial roadblocks.
Kamilah helped support Tamron during her decision-making process by visiting her top two schools with her, helping her weigh the pros and cons, such as community and class sizes, but ensuring that the final choice remained Tamron’s. “I was grateful for the college visits,” Kamilah said, “because if I look back on my college years, I didn’t necessarily have the same type of support available.”
When asked to describe her mentorship experience in one word, Kamilah chose “eye-opening.” As she explained, “The process allowed me to learn about the challenges the current generation faces and that, despite my own life experience, I still have much to learn from the process. But I’ve learned a lot. My eyes were just wide open the whole time, like I thought I knew things but I didn’t.”
Her advice to Scholars is threefold:
- Network: “Tap into every network you have.”
- Take on the “Ride the Wave” philosophy: “Ride the wave, knowing that there are going to be setbacks. There are going to be challenges, but don’t stop…just persevere through.”
- Be encouraged through setbacks: “Keep pushing on because on the other side of that is actually growth, and it’s all a part of the experience. It’s life.”
Moving forward, Kamilah is continuing to mentor with LINK because of her respect for the leadership team and her commitment to the community the program serves. “I love the people at LINK,” she said. “I respect what they do, because they’re giving their all to this program. It actually excites me and motivates me to contribute and to give my all.”
Thank you for your investment in our Scholars, Kamilah! We appreciate you!
Ready to help turn a LINK Scholar’s college dreams into reality? Reach out to Simon Jeffrey, Director of Mentor Recruitment & Experience, at sjeffrey@linkunlimited.org to learn how you can help transform the future through mentorship.
