
The words come easily to Luke Roth when he describes mentoring his student at McKinley Elementary School in Des Moines. “You just show up with your best self for the student, which is also a good life lesson,” he says. “You show up, you have fun, you help them increase their reading comprehension.” Power Read, he adds, is about meeting the students where they are. “’I like that we have alternative activities like drawing available for when the student is having a tough reading day,” Luke says. The two-year mentor also praises the ease of mentoring. “I have found the experience, as someone who volunteers with other organizations, to be very efficient, from the onboarding to the answering of questions,” Luke says. “And you’ve always got that site coordinator there.” He notes one other personal benefit: “I’m in an office all day so when I get to the school I can just let go and we have fun.”