Have you ever been asked, “Who has had the biggest influence on your life?” For years, my answer was the same: Dad, Martin Luther King Jr., and my high school mentor Jen (don’t worry, Jesus eventually took the top spot). Remembering this got me thinking: What does it take to make it onto a teenager’s list of most impactful people?

Mentoring teens is like riding a rollercoaster. It’s a wild ride of drama, last-minute plans, family chaos, unsolicited advice, and those “blank stare” moments that suddenly turn into, “That was the best time ever!” So what really sticks with teens? How do you know if you’re crushing it as a mentor? What do teens really want from us? To get the answers, we went straight to the source.

Meet Liv, a college student who was mentored through YFC starting in her sophomore year. She believes that mentorship played a substantial role in her journey and is even on track to become a mentor herself. From her experience, she shared five qualities that make a list-worthy mentor:

Passion for JesusLiv says, “Every teenager should have a mentor! It is the best ever. But for me, the most life-changing part was my relationship with Jesus. Mentors helped point everything back to Him.”
Able to relate through past experiences She adds, “It was like having an adult friend who actually understood me. Adults might have been through similar things but have a different perspective than friends from school.”
Good communicationWhen asked about her most memorable moment, she remembers a simple phone call: “They just told me they were proud of me. That call literally gave me the strength to keep going through some tough days.”
A sense of humorLiv says, “Sometimes, I just needed someone to laugh with and remind me that things weren’t as huge as they seemed in my head.” Sometimes laughing together about a completely unrelated topic helped more than the intense conversations.
A good listener“Mentorship gave me a space to be real, to talk without judgment. I don’t know where I’d be without that.” Without that support, she admits, “I’d probably still be stuck in sadness and sin. Maybe not even here.”

This simple list shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. Liv didn’t mention any advice that she heard. She remembered how she felt when she was around someone who genuinely cared, heard, and loved her like Jesus – that made all of the difference.

So, here’s the takeaway: you already have what it takes to be a great mentor.

– Written by intern, Makenna Jackson

Through the Eyes of a Teen