Mentor spent time with best friend

Laura Hopp and Cassie Lacy are best friends.

They like to go out for dinner or ice cream, go to the movies, make art and attend church activities together.

The two have known each other since elementary school. When they decided to go to different high schools, Laura sought out the mentoring program Just Friends because she thought it would help them to stay in touch.

Laura, 18, was honored for her friendship with Cassie, who has Down syndrome, as the Midlands Mentoring Partnership's "Mentor of the Year."

At a Friday luncheon during the Omaha Mentoring Summit, the organization honored Laura as well as the Kiewit Corp. as "Advocate of the Year" for its work with the TeamMates Mentoring Program.

Laura said she doesn't feel she deserves an award for spending time with one of her best friends.

"I know that I am her mentor, but I feel like at the same time, she's mine as well," she said.

The Just Friends program, part of the Ollie Webb Center Inc., matches high school students with disabilities, such as Cassie, with peers of their age without disabilities, with the goal of cultivating friendships. Mentors are expected to make weekly phone or email contact with their mentees and to hang out at least twice a month.

Laura and Cassie haven't had any trouble fulfilling those requirements over the past four years. Laura is a senior at Duchesne Academy. Cassie, 19, is a senior at Mercy High School.

Annie Woodruff, mentoring services coordinator at the Ollie Webb Center, nominated Laura because she and Cassie have developed a genuine friendship.

"Laura has been like her guardian angel — she's always looked out for Cassie," said Cassie's mom, Susan Lacy.

Kiewit Corp. also has shown dedication to mentoring Omaha youths by encouraging its employees to volunteer with the TeamMates Mentoring Program, according to the Midlands Mentoring Partnership.

TeamMates was founded by University of Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne and his wife, Nancy, in 1991. The goal of the program is to encourage youth of all ages to graduate from high school and pursue college degrees.

Don Fibich, management coordinator of the TeamMates program for Kiewit, said the company has been involved with the program since the late 1990s.

He said Kiewit has more than 100 employees who volunteer with the program.

Fibich has been a mentor for nine years and has been a part of his mentee's life since the now young man was in the third grade.

"I've been able to see my mentee grow and mature through the years and become a young adult," Fibich said.

The Omaha Mentoring Summit continues through Saturday at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Omaha. The summit features workshops and presentations for mentors and anyone interested in becoming one.

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