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Mountain View High School student Adamari first met her mentor, Stephanie Dauer, as a freshman, not long after learning about the Mentor Tutor Connection program in class. She recalled being nervous about making a good impression, but as conversation flowed, she knew that she and Dauer would hit it off.
Now, Adamari is a senior and continues to meet up with Dauer a couple of times a month. Adamari highlighted that even after she graduates high school, she plans to maintain her relationship with Dauer.
“I can talk to her about anything,” Adamari said. “If I have any issues, I know I can count on her to help me somehow. She’s always there.”
The two have created a special bond over the last three-plus years, getting to know each other over simple meals or more exciting excursions. Together, Adamari and Dauer have visited Alcatraz, gone go-cart racing, hiked different trails in the area and watched live productions.
The duo was paired up through the Mentor Tutor Connection program that operates on the three Mountain View Los Altos High School District campuses. Celebrating 30 years in 2026, the program aims to help students reach their potential and thrive, Executive Director Lisa Peckler said.
“[The program] is based on one-to-one relationships,” Peckler said. “We draw from the local community, people who are really invested in helping kids.”
Dauer volunteered to be a mentor after becoming an empty nester. In her more than three years as Adamari’s mentor, she has enjoyed knowing that she’s making a difference in a young person’s life.
“It’s been such a joy and a privilege for me to see Adamari grow the way that she has,” Dauer said. “I have a new friend, or not so new anymore, but a wonderful friend – who enjoys doing fun things and loves to learn.”
During the 2024-25 school year, Mentor Tutor Connection’s program served 101 students with a total of 81 mentors.
“We just want to provide an additional caring adult presence, beyond a teacher, beyond a relative or parent, somebody who can be another trusted voice,” Peckler said. “The mentor can provide a different perspective and opportunity to experience things in our area that the student might not, whether it’s outings or museums.”
With graduation approaching at the end of this school year, Adamari is constantly thinking about what comes next, she said. Though she was initially hesitant to look into community colleges because of the stigma surrounding them, Dauer helped her feel more comfortable making the decision to attend Foothill College for two years before transferring to a four-year university.
“Stephanie, she’s always encouraged me,” Adamari said. “I never feel bad about saying that I’m going to go to Foothill.”
During an event the two attended together, Adamari learned about Foothill’s study abroad program, and ever since then, she’s had her sights set on going to Brazil.
This guidance on what to do next is just a fragment of the mentoring that Dauer has provided Adamari. Unlike many other mentoring programs in the area, which focus mainly on helping first generation students get to college, Mentor Tutor Connection’s program focuses on the “whole person,” said Jennifer Springer, the mentor program manager at Mountain View High School..
“That’s why this program is special,” Springer said. “The mentors are really trying to help the student figure out how they want to live their life.”
The nonprofit organization also operates a tutoring program that serves elementary and middle school students in the Los Altos and Mountain View Whisman districts, which served 382 K-8 students last school year.
In April, Mentor Tutor Connection is slated to host a celebration fundraiser for its 30th anniversary. For more information, visit mentortutorconnection.org.
Mentor Tutor Connection is a recipient of the Mountain View Voice holiday fund. Each year, donations to the Holiday Fund are divided equally among a group of local nonprofits that serve people in need. The Voice and Embarcadero Media Foundation, the nonprofit that now publishes the Voice, absorb all administrative costs to run the fund, and all donations are tax-deductible.
For more information about the Holiday Fund, go to mv-voice.com/holiday-fund. To give a donation online, go to embarcaderomediafoundation.org/holiday-fund/mountain-view. Checks can be made payable to Mountain View Voice Holiday Fund and sent to 2345 Yale St., FL 1, Palo Alto, CA 94306. The Holiday Fund campaign will run through mid-January, with grants awarded in the spring.
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