A little thing may make a big difference... PA training day 2

Ok so I think I'm going to start each new post with my day's revelation or thought... I know this is kinda lame but I'm enjoying it...

Two years ago I was what was called a Peer Mentor, this meant that I helped mentor a group of freshman and even help teach one of their classes. During this time I had one student, who I'll call Al for the sake of the story. Al didn't seem too enthused about school work or life when he first arrived at Champlain. Although after a few weeks I could see that Al, when he did decide to contribute, he had something in him. I really felt he had the capacity to be a leader and someone to look up to. I can't really explained how it happened but Al and I became friends. We started hanging out some and really confiding in each other, and he shared some pretty intense stuff. Over the course of our friendship I saw a change in Al, he started to participate more, he got more involved on campus. This past year he was an Orientation Leader, was asked to be a Peer Advisor, RAed Governor's institute over the summer, and overall became a leader within our community. Needless to say I was so proud of the transformation that I saw, and really I thought of him as a peer. Although I sort of lost touch with Al this past year...
Today I had a conversation with Bob (obviously not his real name), Bob just finished his first year at Champlain. At one point in the conversation he mentioned something about hearing about me, and I asked him from who. Bob said he had become friends with Al when he first came to Champlain College, and he had many issues of his own that Al had helped him get through. Al told Bob about how I had helped him and that it really made an impact in his life, and so he wanted to do the same... Bob is in line to be a Peer Advisor, a leadership position at Champlain College. I was shocked and kind of moved by this... Even though I had lost touch with Al, it's almost as though a legacy that I had started moved on. Talk about a full circle, I helped on person, who in turn helped another, who in turn is in a position to possibly help someone in the incoming freshman class. I guess what I'm trying to say is that even as trivial as somethings may seem, small things can make a big difference. I never got out of that higher status in Al's mind I don't think, even though I thought of him as a peer...

Today was pretty good overall, we had a great session today with all of the Peer Advisers. This is a really great group. We had some really intense conversations that left us all feeling pretty good about everything. I won't share specifics because I've talked enough already but yea, it was a good day.