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NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - It is a question that comes up on nearly any job interview: who has been your mentor? A lot of kids in the city can't answer that question. That is why Big Brothers Big Sisters has been there. As part of National Mentoring Month, Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC honored its Manhattan male and female matches of the year.
When 12-year-old Josely met her "big sister" Carolina Zapata, she was struggling in school. Today, it's a different story. And in many ways it is a different life for the young girl from the Dominican Republic. She has been doing her homework and getting straight As. Much is said about the impact a mentor has on a child. But Zapata says what she didn't anticipate were the lessons she learned from Josely.
Same goes for Michael Furlani and 10-year-old O'Shea from Harlem. Starting off as stranger, the two taught each other what it means to give back and to be selfless. They volunteered together at a nursing home.
And while Carolina and Josely and O'Shea and Michael are the Manhattan matches of the year, they all agree their relationships will last far into the future, long past even Big Brothers Big Sisters.