SAN ANTONIO – What began as a personal idea in 2002 for Armando Camina has flourished into a program that is changing lives.
The idea was simply a desire to work with young people and the creative arts with the intention to give back to the community and leave a legacy.
In 2004, Camina’s nonprofit, Hope Faith & Dreams Foundation was born. By 2023, Camina began a mentorship program known as Kaleidoscope of Arts, a 10-week program that focuses on building a student up for success by connecting them with a community leader.
“I really admire the fact that he came up with an idea and started to apply it and construct it, put it together but stuck with it for years,” said Richard Oliver.
Oliver’s experience in the broadcast and journalism industry spans more than a decade. His knowledge and experience took him from a student of Texas A&M University to New York, to Corpus Christi and to commentating on the SPURS pre-game and post-game shows for about 12 years; he considers himself blessed to do what he’s done.
When Oliver was approached by Camina to become a mentor for the new program, he said yes.
“The idea of a human interaction in how we learn from each other; when we walk in each other’s shoes for a while we see and experience some things. It opens this door between us.” Oliver said.
Kaleidoscope of Arts was an opportunity for Camina to work with young college students who might not have the chance to speak to someone who had a lot of experience in the career path that they wanted to venture into. The program offers real-world advice and real-world application of how to pursue a career of what is required and needed to be successful.
“So that’s how I went into it, with the idea that I would be a resource for a young student who was looking for or considering or actually pursuing a career in communications,” Oliver said.
When Oliver was still a student at Texas A&M, he remembers the lessons from his mentor, Bob Rogers, who was head of the communications department at Texas A&M at the time. Rogers made a lasting impression on Richard, not just for the lessons about the skills and structure for becoming a successful journalist but also for the discussions about how to combat certain curve balls life can throw.
“It was about ‘how are you doing?’, ‘what are your pressure points?’, ‘what are the things happening in your life right now that are affecting what you are trying to accomplish?,” Oliver said.
Oliver said he realized it’s really great to be good at your profession, but life has a way of having little piranha’s that bite at you in different areas, and it can slow you down.
“As much as it is education in the literal application of, in my case, journalism, it’s an education in dealing with life as you try to wade through every day,” he said.
And Oliver said Rogers was a big part of that.
From his own experience as a mentee and as a father of three who are now in their 20′s and 30′s, Oliver understands what it means to be, not only an example but how important it is to have those conversations about life. So, when he was paired with a mentee who was also pursuing a career in communications, he aspired to make a meaningful connection but this time as a mentor.
The mentorship experience with his mentee became a conversation that rose above the career path conversation, as expected, it became a life path conversation. Oliver believes that is what one of the strengths of the Kaleidoscope of Arts Mentorship program.
“When you’re the mentor and you talk to a mentee, sometimes your life experience can have a lasting impact. You can share your life path and life experiences and all of a sudden, becomes more of a conversation of how it plays into what you decide to do in your life and how you handle things as you move forward,” Oliver said.
Every day is a journey, and it may have a twist and turn that you’re not expecting. He’s grateful for the experience that the program gave him; it helped him to realize some things about his own journey and his life he never thought of until his conversation with his mentee.
“That interaction became very multi-layered, it was a lot different than what I expected,” Oliver said.
Another unexpected twist Oliver wasn’t anticipating is how encouraged his mentee made him feel about the future.
“There are good people doing good things and have great aspirations who want to make a difference and it’s good to be reminded of that no matter what your age is.” Oliver said.
Walking away from those conversations with his mentee gave him the sense that she was going to make a difference.
“I felt really encouraged about the fact that she was going to make a difference, she’s going to do something extraordinary and if I played a little bitty role in that by whatever means, I’m really gratified,” Oliver said.
Having his mentor, Rogers, there to listen to what was going on, to know exactly what he was going through and to say ‘I know exactly what you’re talking about’ was really important to Oliver at a critical time in his life. For Oliver, life has somehow brought him back to a very similar position, but this time as the mentor. Having gone through the evolutions to get where he is today, he hopes he has been a resource for his mentee as his mentor was for him.
“Now I’m able to say, ' I know exactly what you’re talking about, I went through that,” Oliver said.
To learn more about the Kaleidoscope of Arts Mentorship program or how to donate to support youth in our area who are in need of leadership, CLICK HERE.
Hope Faith & Dreams Foundation 501c3 is a community-supported arts and literary partnership as well as an award-winning organization in literary publishing for young writers and artists that was founded in 2002.
KSAT Community operates in partnership with University Health, Energy Transfer and Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union. Click here to read about other KSAT Community efforts.
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