TeamMates of the Month: Isa and Wendy

December 23, 2025

When Isa (“Lisa” without the “L”) was nominated for TeamMates in middle school, she admits she hated the idea.

“I thought they were trying to manipulate me into doing school.”

Her mentor, Wendy, sensed Isa was not all in at first.

“I could tell she was unsure. I tried to think: How do I tread slowly and get her to open up? Crafts helped. If her hands were busy she would talk more.”

For Isa, the pressure dropped with those activities.

“Oh, we're going to just do something fun and relaxing, so it's okay.”

Wendy knows that it hasn’t been easy for Isa to open up.

“We’ve come a long way. We’re close and we share a lot. We don’t necessarily talk about trust. It just happens. She can bring those walls down when she wants to.”

Now, Isa calls Wendy her conscience, someone she says “cares not only when you’re doing good,” but when you are “messing up.” 

She describes an annoying traffic situation in which she just automatically heard Wendy’s voice in her head. She slowed down and let the car merge ahead of her.

Wendy says that’s just one of the ways Isa is smart.

“She is smart about recognizing qualities within people, about recognizing what's happening in a situation, about trusting her own feelings and not being afraid to react in the way that makes sense for her.”

With Wendy in her corner, Isa’s feelings about school grew more positive too. In fact, Isa just got her acceptance letter from Southeast Community College and word of a scholarship, and she is waiting to hear back from Metro Community College too.

Wendy is proud of Isa’s transformation.

“When I look back to seventh and eighth grade, I mean, college wasn't even something Isa would consider. She wasn't even sure she'd make it through high school.”

Isa can already imagine Wendy, who she loves to share her big life moments with, at her graduation.

“Wendy’s enthusiastic. I wouldn’t doubt that she’d come with pom poms. Seriously. ”

And, Isa knows that Wendy is in her life to stay.

“When I was in Student Support, I thought that Wendy wasn't gonna be able to see me anymore, that I was just on my own, in a place I didn't know anyone, that I wouldn't be able to talk about anything. And that didn't happen. Nothing can separate us.”

---