The Mentors
Lead Mentor: Angela
Angela is a blessed mother of 5 children (ages 5-18 years old) and has been an avid homeschool mother for 12+ years.
After the tragic and sudden passing of her own best friend mother, the realization awakened within her of the importance of her own role and influence as a mother. The road of homeschooling opened up before her and has become the biggest blessing of her life.
In Angela's own childhood she was a highly motivated student to receive that 4.0GPA, but unfortunately remembers very little of what she learned, except for a few key moments from teachers who became brief inspiring mentors. Homeschooling has felt like a fresh new chapter where her own phases of learning have really blossomed as she learns alongside her own children.
She is a very eclectic homeschooler and has found direction and joy through implementing parts of the Well Educated Heart philosophy, Thomas Jefferson Education philosophy, and even using aspects of unschooling. The journey has been varied through the years, but the results have humbled and thrilled her as she watches her children thrive in this learning environment.
She has enjoyed a variety of hobbies through the years: basketball, volleyball, marathon running, piano, choir, photography, road-schooling with her family, homesteading, reading, and she is discovering new interests along the way! She absolutely loves learning through play and deep discussions in a variety of ways. She has found joy leading children and youth (her own and others) in multiple ways through the years. Last year she was a trained counselor for Youth for Freedom, a week long leadership camp, and loved learning and guiding the youth on their own leadership journey.
She is a devote follower of Christ and member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and she feels very guided by Him in this journey. She felt Christ's direction and inspiration throughout the first year of Climb to Lead and realizes that every good thing that happened in each person's heart was because of the Spirit softening hearts. She loves this new chapter as a mentor helping each youth discover their own journey and passion for learning through beautiful uplifting literature, group discussions, and team building activities, and receiving their own inspirations through God. These experiences build on each other have the power to transform lives into the leaders of the future who can make a difference within themselves and to those around them. She knows this because she has and continues to experience this tranformation herself.
The Classics
"The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries."
We will be adding the greatest authors of history as our mentors through our journey to becoming leaders.
Yes the authors of the books we read will be powerful mentors in your journey this year! You will learn wisdom on the pages of each story you embark on reading. You may not have direct access to speak and talk to them like your parents, teachers, friends, or other important people in your life who can be valuable sources of conversation. However, we do not want to overlook these author mentors who have already passed through this life and left treasures of wisdom and experience.
Each semester there will be a different theme of focus. Even if you have read any of the books that will be given that semester, there will be new wisdom which can be discovered on a second, third, or even fourth reading. The book may have not changed, but your life has.
You will be the attentive student who gets to discover something much deeper than just the story they tell, and as a class we will learn how to do this. You will learn to listen to the unique messages for you, and inspiration from God will come and guide you as you act on those promptings.
"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you." - Mortimer Adler
Are you ready to meet many wonderful authors who will be your mentors? It's going to be an exciting journey!
As a very involved parent, I know how important it is to trust the types of books that are chosen for my children to read. There is a very large variety of types of books out there. We strive to teach the youth about the different types and purposes of books and which ones to limit or stay away from. We talk about the difference between "whole books" (good=good, bad=bad, and good wins) and "broken books" (good=good, bad=bad, and bad seems to win) in the Thomas Jefferson Education definition of these types of books. We spend the majority of our reading in the "whole books" category, but there are times we will specifically read "broken books" as these make for valuable and possibly life changing discussions as a group as we navigate through the principles we need to grow as leaders. I've seen some incredible growth from the youth as we read these books. I strive to choose books that are as wholesome as possible (limited swearing or authors promoting disrespectful behavior). Some books may still have limited swearing and themes that your specific child isn't ready to tackle. I strive to be as transparent as possible with all the books we read. Because I specifically cater each semester to the current students and the inspiration I receive, the book list comes out shortly before each semester.
To get an idea of the books we have read so far (and will possibly have on book lists in the future), here is a list of the books:
*Do Hard Things - Alex & Brett Harris (Leadership Classic)
Summer of the Monkeys - Wilson Rawls
Understood Betsy - Dorothy Canfield
*George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans by Christian Heroes: Then and Now
*A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Thomas Jefferson Education For Teens - DeMille (leadership Classic)
Turn the Page: Read Right to Lead Right - Chris Brady (leadership classic)
The Genius of Willie MacMichael - George Macdonald
*Kisses From Katie - Katie Davis
A Single Shard - Linda Sue Park
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch – Jean Lee Latham
*Achieving Your Life Mission – Randall Wright (Leadership Classic)
Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman
*The Noticer by Andy Andrews
*I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (Young Readers Edition or original for more advanced readers)
Princess and the Goblin by George Macdonald
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Standing For Something by Gordon B. Hinckley
Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
Animal Farm by George Orwell
*The Alliance by Gerald Lund
The Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang
*The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
The Basket of Flowers by Christoph Von Schmid
Advanced Scholars have read some of these:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (ages 16+)
*Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
*The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas
Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
Within Reach: My Everest Story by Mark Pfetzer
*Class majority favorites
(most of these were chosen as individual favorites of at least one student)
This upcoming Fall 2025 semester we will be reading:
