Why I Mentor: Gabriel Thurman
This Is Why I Mentor Series
A series to share, educate, and inspire others with mentoring stories.
We have all had one in our lives…. Someone we look up to. Someone we call when we have questions, concerns, and frustrations. Someone who provides sound and nurturing wisdom. Someone we can expose our true selves to and still feel supported. Someone we can hunt with. Someone we can fish with. Someone we can spend time with. A mentor.
This series is meant to be a way to educate and motivate you to give back to others. It is designed to inspire you to become a mentor. It is a reminder to thank your mentor. Hopefully the advice and stories shared here will leave you nothing short of empowered!
Mentor: Gabriel Thurman
HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU BEEN MENTORING?
Recently had the chance to mentor a youth hunter through your wonderful organization. I have been mentoring several adult onset hunters for the last decade.
WHAT DOES MENTORING MEAN TO YOU?
Mentoring is sharing and giving back to the outdoors. My life has been so profoundly impacted by time spent in wild places, it is a treasure that everyone should be able to experience.
WHO WAS/IS YOUR MENTOR?
My dad, Mick Thurman, lit the fire in me for hunting, fishing and so many things in my life.
WHY DO YOU MENTOR?
I have always in some way been a mentor for hunting. Even when I didn't realize that's what I was doing, whether it be helping people learn how to shoot, find places to hunt or inviting hunters on my several times a year trips out west for big game. The experiences I have had in the outdoors would not be as cherished if it did not involve helping other people experience it.
HOW CAN SOMEONE ELSE MENTOR?
I believe most hunters and anglers have a desire in them to share the knowledge they have gained over the years. The best way I have found to mentor, is join a group of like minded people, that has getting new people in the outdoors as a solid core value. I am a very proud member of backcountry hunters and anglers, our local Kansas chapter is fairly new but full of passionate people. I would have not had the opportunity to mentor a young hunter and there parent if it wasn't for meeting the right people through BHA.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MENTORING MOMENT?
I have several fond memories of mentoring but last weekends youth hunt through the pass it on mentors program is my favorite. That may of been a small doe to a lot of folks but how proud and happy that kid and his mom were, it may as well been a 200 inch deer.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AS A MENTOR AND TRYING TO SHARE YOUR PASSION FOR HUNTING?
I have been very blessed in being able to share my love of the outdoors with so many people over the years, like most people finding good land to take a new hunter can be challenging. Kansas does not have vast wilderness to roam but what we do have is a lot of gracious land owners that understand the important role hunting plays in wildlife management and conservation.