Image of Bill Stehnach and Andreus Bowman
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.
