House Mentors

Meet some of our Mentors

Ismael & Vanessa Abreu – Travis Street House
Ismael and Vanessa Abreu are the mentors in the Travis St. house since fall 2009. Ismael and Vanessa have been married since April 2007. Vanessa was born and raised in Miami, FL and moved to Grand Rapids about 12 years ago. She is a 2006 Calvin graduate working as Assistant Director of Admissions, coordinating the Fridays at Calvin program at Calvin College. Ismael is from the Dominican Republic and moved to the U.S. 9 years ago. He is currently a part time student at Grand Rapids Community College and will be a full time student at Calvin in the Spring of 2010. Ismael and Vanessa enjoy traveling, going for motorcyle rides and spending time with friends and family.

Greg and Andrea Veltman - Nizhoni House
Greg and Andrea have been mentors since the fall of 2010. Andrea was raised primarily in Vernon, in British Columbia. After moving to Hamilton, Ontario, to study English, Art and Philosophy at Redeemer University College, she moved to Beaver Falls, PA, to pursue graduate studies in Higher Education at Geneva College. Some of her greatest loves at present are the culinary arts, potlucks, gardens, farmer's markets, farms, aspirational spaces, and sharing good food and thoughtful conversation with friends. In addition to her mentor responsibilities at Nizhoni she spends her time working as Calvin's Off-campus Housing Coordinator, painting with oils in an art class at Calvin and exploring the beautiful city of Grand Rapids. Greg is pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh, with a focus on the philosophy and sociology of education. He currently teaches Diverse Perspectives on Education at Grand Valley State University. He also writes regularly about film for Comment Magazine.Greg loves conversations at the intersection of higher education and culture, as well as engaging and discerning popular film and music. Most of the time you will find him reading a book or Wired and Fast Company magazines, listening to Garrison Keillor's News from Lake Wobegon podcast, or watching a TED talk.

Expectations of Mentors

To foster the goals of Project Neighborhood through serving as a participant-mentor in the life of the house and giving leadership through modeling, mentoring and facilitating a house environment which is caring, accountable, shaped by prayer and biblical principles.

Primary Responsibilities

1. Facilitate and encourage the active participation and ownership of the students in developing and living a common life together in which they relate to one another as image bearers of God, bridge social and economic barriers and develop vision and capacity for service.
2. Facilitate the formation of, participation in, and reflection upon the community of the house, including weekly house meetings which attempt to develop desired outcomes for the project.
3. Facilitate house meetings to determine responsibilities related to housekeeping, meals, property maintenance and neighbor relations.
4. Provide mentoring and discipleship avenues for residents.
5. Ensure the maintenance of the physical structure of the house, in connection with the facility supervisor.
6. Develop positive personal relationships with neighbors and facilitate the student's efforts in this regard.
7. Serve as representative of the college.

Interested in becoming a PN Mentor?

We will be hiring in the beginning of April. Please look for the job posting in early March.