By Sherry Harbert | Communications Director
As an athlete, MIKE mentor Joe Lopez hopes to leave a strong impression with youth at De La Salle North Catholic High School. Lopez is inspiring youth to be more active by aligning his college football success to healthy behaviors.
“I have a unique understanding of the full spectrum of health,” says Lopez. “And healthy behaviors is something that gets overlooked too much in the typical high school education.”
Lopez says his main goal with mentoring for MIKE is to help guide youth away from unhealthy behaviors while they are still young. “I think health is as essential in our lives as sleep,” Lopez adds.
Lopez recently shared his enthusiasm with his five mentees during a “Stress, Sleep and Physical Activity” carousel lesson held outside the classroom. The activity helped highlight National Sports and Physical Fitness month in a way which teenagers could absorb directly.
He engages the youth in conversations about what attitudes and barriers hindered the youth, then coaches them through problem-solving methods to help them discover their own ways for improving behaviors.
When the youth turn to Lopez with questions about his own physical activity routine, he is happy to share how he combines his love of football with staying healthy. He embeds his team-ethic strategy to encourage participation for each of his mentees. Lopez says the method is an important way for including everyone in a shared goal.
One of MIKE’s goals is to empower youth to embrace and promote healthy behaviors. MIKE health science education program mentors youth with near-age mentors who serve as guides and role models for at least one academic semester. Each mentor commits at least two hours every week with the youth in their classrooms. Some of MIKE’s mentors volunteer for more than one session. Almost all of the mentors this year participate in sports and physical activities as one way for staying healthy.
Lopez gladly shows his mentees how his favorite sport keeps him healthy. Football has been a passion for Lopez since his high school days at Central Catholic in Portland. He quickly rose to statewide recognition with roles on both offensive and defensive lines three years in a row. He returned to Central Catholic last fall to coach the varsity and junior teams. It’s a way Lopez can combine his love of the game with mentoring youth.
Football was the lead attraction for Lopez in his first years at Oregon State University. While he focused academically in Exercise and Sports Science, he earned his way onto one of Oregon’s most popular college teams as a defensive tackle. Lopez played for the 2011 and 2012 seasons, then pivoted for Portland State University’s football team and a chance to study health sciences.
Lopez discovered he wanted to work directly with youth within the health sciences profession. “I always found joy in seeing the metaphorical light bulb click on above someone’s head,” he says.
Now Lopez sees that realization each Thursday as a MIKE mentor. “I hope I will be able to make an impact in the youth’s options for careers, too.”
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