Big Brothers Big Sisters honors strong bonds formed by mentors, youths

Ashley Howes of Coal Center and Natayah Moten were named the Big and Little Sister of the Year for the Laurel Region.

By JEFF HIMLER
TribLive

Luke Finlay and Jaxon Smartnick may have been born about a quarter of a century apart, but they’re brothers nonetheless.

“He’s like the little brother I always wished I had,” Finlay, 32, of Hempfield said of the 8-year-old Greensburg boy he’s mentoring through Greensburg-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region.

The pair’s special bond was recognized when they were named the Big and Little Brother of the Year duo at the organization’s recent gala in North Huntingdon.

“Our connection is real,” Finlay said. “It’s life-changing.”

A PennDOT driver based in Westmoreland County, Finlay became involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters about a year and a half ago through his side business, Oscar’s Reptile Encounters. A fan of snakes since he was a young boy, Finlay and his wife, Christina, a nurse, exhibit some of their 30 pet reptiles at community events and for kids at parties and day care centers.

He was asked to bring his reptiles to an annual Summer Fest event Big Brothers Big Sisters holds at Twin Lakes Park near Greensburg. At the same time, he learned about the group’s mentoring opportunities and agreed to sign on for a potential match.

“I had some anxiety at first,” he admitted. “I was stepping out of my comfort zone, but it’s going great.”

Smartnick was shy at first, but an initial trip to a favorite fast-food restaurant and an area pet store broke the ice, Finlay said.

“He started talking up a storm, and both of us were laughing and giggling,” Finlay said. “He’s a great kid, and I enjoy spending time with him.”

The Finlays named their reptile venture after their pet bearded dragon. When Smartnick comes to visit them, he enjoys spending time with Oscar and with the couple’s piebald ball python, Little Man.

Finlay said he now considers Smartnick part of his family and includes the boy in Christmas gatherings with his parents, in Unity. At one event they attended, they got their faces painted to resemble the fictional dynamic duo, Batman and Robin.

“I call (Smartnick) every Friday and try to see him as much as possible when my work schedule allows,” Finlay said.

“My son just adores him,” Lori Smartnick said of her son. “He’s a very good role model for my son. He’s teaching him the life lessons that he needs to learn.”

With Finlay’s encouragement, Jaxon Smartnick has learned to swim — without water wings — and is on track to add bicycle-riding to his skill set.

One of Finlay’s goals for the coming year is to help Smartnick gain the confidence to ride his bike without training wheels.

In turn, Smartnick showed his mentor how to play video games.

“We’re both teaching each other every day,” said Finlay.

In selecting recipients of the Big and Little awards, the local group looks for matches where the mentor has had a positive impact on the youth.

“It has to be a match where we see some real change in the little, as far as progression and really making a difference in their life,” said Cinda Watkins, executive director. “The joy that both the bigs and the littles are having from being together, that’s what we always want to see when we make these matches.”

‘Sisters’ share bond

Taking Laurel Region honors as Big and Little Sister of the Year were the Fayette County duo of Ashley Howes, 37, of Coal Center, and Natayah Moten, of Brownsville, now a freshman at West Virginia University.

The pair were matched when Moten was 17 and nearing the end of her studies at Brownsville Area High School.

Since, Howes has taken on membership and media responsibilities with the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce. After receiving the annual nod from Big Brothers Big Sisters, she joined that organization’s board.

Recalling the challenges she overcame in her late teens, Howes said she wanted to offer encouragement to Moten and provide the older female role model Moten was missing in a household shared with a grandfather and younger sister.

That included teaching the teen how to prepare a lasagna dinner. They’ve since joined forces to host cooking events for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Howes has been on hand for many of Moten’s rites of passage, including her high school graduation, and the pair have shared meaningful talks and walks in local parks.

“She introduces me in public as a sister,” Howes said. “It’s so touching and so sweet. It feels natural.

Moten is focusing her university studies on mental health and addiction. She hopes to earn advanced degrees and pursue a career as a clinical psychologist.

She said Howes “means a lot to me. I just love the support she’s given me over the past couple of years.

“She gives me a lot of words of encouragement and a lot of advice on how to think before I speak, think before I act and always be kind because you never know what other people are going through.”

While a Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor is expected to remain involved with their matched “little” for at least two years, Finlay and Howes said they believe the relationships they’ve formed with their younger counterparts will be more enduring.

“I hope to see (Smartnick) when he graduates from high school,” said Finlay. “There are people who have been through this program and have remained friends and now they’re in their 60s or 70s.”

There are more than 100 young people in Westmoreland and Fayette counties who are waiting to be matched with an older mentor, Watkins said.

“We are in need of more caring adults,” she said. “It’s not a ton of time we’re asking individuals to give, and it really does make an impact on the lives of children.”