The legacy of Brandon Bassi lives on at North Delta Secondary through Brandon’s All-Star Mentors, a peer support program that helps elementary students feel more comfortable entering high school.
The program is named in honour of Bassi a 2018 NDSS grad, SFU student-athlete and Vancouver Whitecaps prospect who was killed in a car crash on May 18, 2019.
A few months after the start of the 2018/2019 school year, Bassi approached his former Huskies basketball coaches, teachers Jesse Hundal and Gary Sandhu, about starting a program to help Grade 7 students as they enter high school.
After Bassi’s death, they worked to create Brandon’s All-Star Mentors (BAM) with support from the Brandon Bassi Foundation — started by the Bassi family in Brandon’s memory — and NDSS principal Aaron Akune, startin in October of 2019, and program mentors began working with students from Hellings, McCloskey and Richardson elementary schools at the start of 2020.
This year, 46 mentors from grades 9 through 12 have been meeting with local elementary school students to familiarize them with the mentorship program and provide any support they need in getting ready to make the jump to high school next fall.
“Since the beginning of this program, the goal has been understanding how to create secure connections between a mentor and a mentee in school and community settings,” said Grade 12 student Sahibnoor Sidhu.
Jasleen Dhillon, also in Grade 12, knows from personal experience the nervousness that comes with starting high school, and says the program works as an outlet for elementary students to express their doubts and ask questions prior to their first day of Grade 8.
“And it allows us as mentors to shed light on how we overcame the exact challenges they are concerned about,” Dhillon added.
In the coming weeks, BAM mentors will be writing letters to Grade 7 students to tell them about high school, including information about the best vending machine, best study spots, hallway etiquette and other similar topics. They’re also scheduled to participate in environmental clean-ups in the community, a sports day/carnival, and a food drive.
“Coming into high school can be a difficult transition for many. It can be one of the first major life changes for some people,” said Grade 12 student Joie Marin.
“Luckily for me, I had three older siblings who had gone through the same experience ahead of me. Knowing that I had a familiar face in this strange new environment to answer my seemingly silly questions alleviated so much of my stress.”
For Dhillon, the time spent getting to know the younger students has resulted in learning how relatability is key to successfully sharing advice and lessons so it resonates with others.
“Understanding how to communicate with different age groups and maintaining the perfect medium between a friendship and mentorship has been a great learning experience,” Dhillon said.
BAM also brings in guest speakers to provide guidance and motivation for both mentors and mentees.
Before taking on this year’s Grade 7s, BAM mentors heard from Const. Gurdeep Beesla, a recruitment officer with the Vancouver Police Department, award-winning wrestler and a volunteer coach with Khalsa Wrestling Club; and North Delta-raised Jasmine Mander, head coach for Canada’s U15 women’s national soccer team and Olympic gold medal winner as part of the coaching staff for the women’s national team at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
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Other speakers this year have included Housing Minister and Delta North MLA Ravi Kahlon, Global BC news director and station manager Bhupinder Hundal, and Hockey Night in Canada Punjabi co-hosts Randip Janda and Gurp Sian.
Before starting off for this year, the B.A.M mentors have had the opportunity to be mentored themselves by some remarkable individuals from our community.
“As mentors, we have had the wonderful opportunity to learn from trailblazers who have not only impacted our community but our entire country,” said Grade 12 student Vamakshi Parikh.
“Through these amazing guest speakers, we have been able to switch roles and become mentees ourselves, asking questions and getting advice to help us become better mentors,” Sidhu added.
editor@northdeltareporter.com
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