When Gary and Donna Gilleskie attended their son Drew’s first home basketball game, they weren’t expecting to meet his future mentor. But that chance meeting turned out to be life-changing for Drew and had a profound impact on his experience at William Peace University.
Donna was sitting next to Robin Vincent, Associate Professor of Education at Peace, who was there to support another student she mentored. They struck up a conversation and Donna asked Vincent if she would consider mentoring her son, as well. Vincent responded that she’d be happy to consider it, but the request would need to come directly from Drew.
The next day Drew reached out to Vincent, and the rest is history.
Mentoring students is one of Vincent’s passions, and she established a weekly routine of meeting every Monday with Drew, even through the pandemic.
“Our meetings were mostly things like how to study, how to take notes, and setting goals, both for the semester and long-term goals like wanting to graduate early,” said Vincent. “We would look at assignments together and break them into smaller pieces.”
Vincent said Drew was highly motivated to succeed in school, but needed some additional support and guidance. In addition to individual mentoring sessions, she reached out to colleagues at Peace on his behalf, including the registrar, his coach, and his instructors, with a goal of building a team of support.
“I helped Drew navigate being an advocate for himself,” said Vincent. “It became a group effort – everyone wanted Drew to be successful.”
Donna said she had a fond nickname for Vincent because of her efforts.
“I called her ‘mama on the ground,’” she laughed. “Drew is very smart, but having someone who could motivate him to finish and help him with the details and navigate the things he needed to do was critical.”
Thanks to Drew’s hard work and Vincent’s support, he earned his degree in criminal justice in just three years and is now working in his chosen field as a police officer in Chapel Hill.
Doing so required some hard choices, including making the choice to stop playing basketball for Peace. But he felt it was the right decision.
“At a school like Peace, you can play a sport, but you have to do the academic part and do it well. Here you’re a student first,” said Drew.
Donna and Gary said they are proud of Drew’s professionalism as a police officer.
“This is something he wanted, and he went for it. He has to be authoritative yet kind. I’m just very proud of him for the things he’s doing at such a young age – he just turned 24 and has so much responsibility,” Donna said.
Enhancing Mentorship Efforts at Peace
In recognition of Vincent’s exceptional mentoring of their son, Donna, Gary, and Drew Gilleskie established the Excellence in Mentoring Fund at Peace. The fund is intended to carry forward Vincent’s legacy of mentorship by supporting her work and that of future faculty who demonstrate excellence in guiding and mentoring students.
The endowed fund recognizes and supports faculty mentoring excellence, beginning with Vincent. The fund will support her mentoring efforts, program development and implementation, faculty collaboration, and academic development. Over time, the endowed fund will provide sustainable support for future faculty recipients and their discretionary mentoring-related initiatives.
Gary and Donna Gilleskie are both educators, and their own experiences and expertise gave them a deep appreciation for the critical role Vincent played in their son’s college experience.
“It’s very clear that we made the right choice of school. There aren’t many schools that would provide that kind of support. We’re super grateful for everything – the whole experience,” said Gary.
“There’s a sense of relief for the parent to know there’s someone at the university who can serve in this role,” said Donna. “We wanted to honor Robin and we made the initial gift hoping she could use it to do her academic job better or do more mentoring. Then we learned that we could give an additional amount that would be recurring to support Robin in her mentoring as well as other faculty in the future.”
Gary said he’s excited about the possibility of extending Vincent’s work.
“I’m sure there are other students at Peace who need mentoring, and I hope this will allow them to be mentored, too,” he said.
Vincent said she was grateful for the additional support that will allow her to expand her efforts.
“It’s a little overwhelming to be honored for something I love to do,” she said. “I love teaching and being in teacher education, but I feel the most productive when I’m sitting at the table with a student and working through what’s hard.”
She is confident that the fund will allow Peace to expand its mentoring program in meaningful ways.
“This is going to allow us to set a framework in place to train other people to mentor,” Vincent said. “There are definitely other faculty and staff who have that desire, but don’t always know what to do or how to do it.”
A Lasting Impact
Drew gives Vincent credit for helping him earn his degree, and observed the lessons he learned have continued to have an impact on his life.
“She helped get me here now,” said Drew. “I’m more independent and able to plan.”
Drew observed that the relationship-building skills he honed at Peace through his work with Vincent and others are critical to his current role as a police officer.
“A lot of people we deal with are homeless. I know them by name, I talk to them, and build relationships with people who are having a hard time. Some kids we deal with on a weekly basis are running away, and I have to talk with them and their parents,” he said. “Those relationships are everything.”
