My Adventures as an Outdoor Mentor

By: Mike Christensen

My Adventures as an Outdoor Mentor

I had my first experience as an outdoor mentor in 1999, when the local Big Brothers Big Sisters agency asked if I could host a youth upland hunt. This coincided with the first year that the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks instituted a youth upland season. I reached out to members of the local Quail Unlimited chapter, and together we took several kids hunting on WIHA properties near Wichita.

It was an eye-opening experience. I thought these kids would easily out-walk us that day, but I was wrong. By the end of the second field, most of the 12–16-year-olds were physically exhausted. But without exception, they all wanted to know when they could go again. What started as a first upland hunt for these kids eventually grew into Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors.

Becoming a Mentor Myself

In July 2002, I joined Kansas BBBS as their Director of Outdoor Mentoring. Since my job was to recruit mentors, I figured I'd better practice what I was preaching and become one myself. I learned about three boys in one household whose dad was disabled and couldn't hunt. I managed to match two of them with mentors, and I was matched with Dana, who was 12 at the time.

He taught me about fishing—having grown up in western Kansas where there isn't much water, I wasn't much of an angler. Over our six years together, we hunted dove, deer, pheasants, quail, ducks, geese, and turkeys, creating countless memorable experiences.

Dana's first deer hunt was on Ted Turner's Z Bar Ranch in Kansas. We sat in a blind on the edge of a 50-acre alfalfa field surrounded by CRP. The deer had grazed the alfalfa down so uniformly it looked freshly mowed. When three does appeared broadside at about 75 yards, Dana pulled the trigger. The deer looked up and went right back to grazing. He chambered another round and shot again. The deer looked up, took a couple of steps, and resumed grazing. One more round, another BOOM. The deer glanced around and wandered off into the CRP.

Dana and I still laugh about that hunt today. He's now a foreman with the sheet metal workers union, working on a project in Austin. He calls whenever he's passing through to visit family, and we always get together.

Adventures with Jack

After my match with Dana ended when he graduated high school, I was matched with Jack. I'd met him on some of the hunts we coordinated for kids on the waiting list.

Our first turkey hunt was brutally cold—20 degrees with blowing snow. We sat in a blind next to another match, hoping to see some turkeys. After a while, Jack started taking off his boots. When I asked why, he said, "My toes are getting cold!" Turns out he was wearing steel-toed boots, so he took them off and put his gloves on his feet instead. This kid is a problem solver, I thought.

On another outing, we had eight kids and their mentors heading from Wichita to western Kansas for a pheasant hunt. We stopped for pizza before checking into our hotel for the evening. I had four kids in my truck, and before the pizza stop, one of them was passing some truly awful gas—the kids were hanging their heads out the windows.

When we got ready to resume the trip, Jack and another kid asked if they could ride in a different vehicle. Leading the caravan, I left assuming they'd all gotten situated. But there wasn't room for two in the other vehicle, and Jack was left standing in the parking lot! Fortunately, the last vehicle squeezed him in.

Jack is now a Big Brother himself and will be helping me coach the Wichita Clay Dusters trap team this spring. He's getting his Little Brother through hunter education, and they'll be joining us for hunts this next season.

The Rewards of Mentoring

I've seen firsthand the positive effect that mentoring can have on a child's life. I've also experienced firsthand its positive effect on my own life. It's a tremendous feeling to know you've helped a young boy become a confident, self-sufficient man.

One comment that folks with Big Brothers Big Sisters often hear from mentors is that they feel they get as much or more from the experience than the kids do. That's certainly been my experience.

Become an Outdoor Mentor and see it for yourself. You won't be disappointed.