Current Mentors

Calendar

Become a Mentor

HighSight always welcomes new mentors who are excited about making a real difference in the lives of our scholars. We could not succeed without the support and encouragement of our dedicated volunteers.

Please contact Patty Hart, our Program Director, at patty.hart@highsight.org if you are interested in learning more about becoming a mentor.

Mentor Spotlight - Karen Newbury

It's all about relationships

Karen Newbury is many things: a lawyer, a cook, an actress, a master tennis ball chucker for her Labrador, a reader, an interior designer, a movie fan, a football fan, a power shopper, and a HighSight mentor. She is proud of them all, but enjoys her work as a lawyer and her HighSight mentoring most of all.

Karen discovered HighSight accidentally, but certainly when the time was right, even though she initially ended up in the wrong place at the right time. A resident of the Lincoln Park area, Karen had been driving by the HighSight banner on the old St. Joseph School (HighSight's former home), day after day for years. One day, she decided to look on the internet and find out what HighSight was. She had been toying with the idea of tutoring in some way and here was the perfect opportunity. She called Patty, made an appointment for that evening, and showed up promptly at 6:30 - at the St. Joseph School. After some moments spent wondering, she called Patty, found the right building and she and HighSight have been working happily together ever since.

Meeting HighSight alumni and seeing what they have done with their lives is a big thrill. Watching the trust and affection that have developed among Patty, Mark and Maggie and the scholars is a delight.

Karen says, "HighSight is a wonderful experience for me! I have the joy of giving, but I always seem to get back much more than I put in. I make new friends and learn about their interests. I've met potential pediatricians, Japanese translators, dancers, engineers, graphic novel writers, lawyers, obstetricians and musicians. I've met scholars for whom life is still a wide-open book with every possibility to choose from. I don't know what could be more exciting. Every time I come home from HighSight, I feel uplifted and happy, and as if I can always keep part of my own life a wide-open book with plenty of room for new and different friends and experiences."

Last year and this year, Karen has worked with small groups of high school seniors, helping them through their college application process. Karen and the scholars search for and review potential colleges, write essays, get tests scheduled, transcripts sent and recommendations written. It's a very happy moment when a scholar not only gets admitted to the school she chose, but gets all the financial aid she needs as well.

Most of the time, Karen is an attorney with Schiff Hardin LLP, a large general practice law firm, with strong capabilities in most legal disciplines. Karen is a member of the Bankruptcy and Litigation Groups. One reason Karen is so happy at Schiff is that they share a passion for developing relationships and doing their utmost to serve and preserve them. They further share a joy in developing and honing new and existing knowledge, just like Karen and the mentors, scholars and staff at HighSight.