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By Jeannette Batz Cooperman Photography by Scott Rovak
When Dr. Bill Stehnach, veterinarian and founder of My Best Friend Veterinary Center, volunteered to be a mentor with the Discovering Options program for at-risk kids, he didn’t know what he was getting into. He and the student he was matched up with, 12-year-old Andreus Bowman, compared notes over lunch at Steak ’n Shake.
Andreus: When it first started out, Bill and some other people had come up and we didn’t know we was going to decide right there [who mentored whom]. Bill started talking, and I was making him laugh, making up jokes and stuff ... [When the mentors were picked] they made us close our eyes before we walked in. I opened my eyes and saw Bill starin’ dead at me.
Bill: And what did you tell me?
A: I said, “Hey, Bill,” and gave you a hug,’ and you said, “Dreams do come true.” That was a good start. Because I was not sure I wanted to do this.
B: I sat down with all these kids and—
A: He was thinking the same thing I was thinking: We might not get along. You meet people, you get kind of shy. I feel the same way. The second time we met, we went to the park. What was that place called, where they have a bunch of art?
B: The art museum.
A: Yeah. I got mad because they didn’t have pizza.
B: We went to Puck’s, and I didn’t know what he’d like.
A: He got a pizza that was fancy cheese.
B: So Dre looks at it and says, “Where is the meat?”
A: That’s not even a pizza, without meat. [Pauses.] I think I probably was nervous. Bill is rich. He likes listening to weird music.
B: Er ... classical. And I can now say that I know Nelly.
A: They thought I was going to fail fifth grade. We really didn’t get taught too much. The teacher was mainly trying to handle the kids. She didn’t have time to teach us.
B: You commit to giving one hour a week for 20 weeks—
A: [Warily tastes Bill’s root beer float.] It’s good.
B: Have as much as you want. Anyway, that was my worry, taking on that commitment.
A: And I was thinking the same thing: What if Bill didn’t want to have me after the 20 weeks was up? Last month [when the formal mentoring period ended], we was thinking if he wanted to keep me or not. We’ve been through a lot together. I was thinking I really didn’t want to let him go.
Andreus mentions a time when his mom was mourning someone she loved.
A: People can’t hold a person who is losing somebody. They just break apart.
The conversation switches to careers, and Andreus talks about his brother’s friend, who wants to be a fashion designer and just designed a jacket.
A: That was tight.
B: “Tight.” Yep. I’ve got to learn the jargon.
A: Don’t say it out in public though.
B: He laughs at me because I say it wrong.
A: Bill says “thor-ough,” but it’s “throw.”
B: It’s like saying “thoroughly cool.”
A: But nobody says “cool” anymore—that’s old.
[Bill tries the pronounciation again.]
A: [Snorts.] It cracks me up when he can’t say it right. I just think about it in my head.
B: One of my favorite things is the way Andreus will sing a rap song to his dog [T-Bo, a German shepherd–terrier mix Bill helped him adopt.] When we went to the shelter, he got upset because there are so many dogs there that will never have a home.
A: They’ll be your first best friend.
Asked how they’re each different, having known each other, Bill falls silent, thinking. Andreus watches him nervously and finally prods him.
B: I’m thinking of all the ways this friendship has affected me, so I’m trying to think of something really smart to say.
A: Taking a long time.
B: [Laughs, then turns serious.] At 48, I finally realized I’ve lived a really full life and I’ve never really taught anybody what I’ve learned; I’ve never shared any of it.
A: I’m going to teach him some of the things I’ve learned—like different styles of music.
B: What I hope for Dre is that we get through school. He’s at risk for drugs and alcohol and gangs and smoking and dropping out.
A: I know I ain’t going in that direction—nobody in my family did—but a lot of kids at my school think they Bloods and Crips. They ain’t cute. Their parents probably were, too. I say, “Y’all are stupid. In gangs, you wind up dead. You could be different.” At my old school, everybody had a mentor. Now, since I’m at a different school, they think it’s a joke.
B: So we meet after school. A big part of my job is making sure that he stays.
