Jim Bruno has been a mentor at Walnut Street School since 2018. He joined EWI because his wife introduced him to the program and after he looked into the mission of helping students read he was hooked.
Jim and his wife are transplants to Des Moines from Baltimore, Md. He started Midwest Search Group 20 years ago but “recently sold his interests in the company. He currently does financial recruiting on his own.” Before moving to Des Moines he got a degree in finance from Towson University in Baltimore. He moved to Des Moines in the 80’s for a job (that he thought was just going to be for experience before moving back to Baltimore) and is still here 35 years later.
Outside of work and mentoring he also enjoys golfing and spending time with his 1 year old grandson.
His favorite part of being a mentor is, “meeting my mentee and hearing about his past week and then starting to read and answer questions about the current chapter. I really enjoy the books that they choose.”
We hear from a lot of mentors that they get as much out of the experience as the students do. Jim says that he mentors with EWI “because I enjoy giving back and quite frankly from a selfish standpoint I get as much out of it as my student. I always leave in a much better place than when I walked in – it’s an awesome feeling!”
He ends by encouraging anyone to join EWI especially men because, “some of the kids don’t have a father figure at home and those who are thinking about jumping in won’t regret it.”
EWI thanks Jim for his work and dedication to the students and the Power Read Program.