TeamMates of the Month: Estelle and Mikaela

March 3, 2025

Listening Matters 

When Estelle and her new mentor, Mikaela, met in middle school, they naturally formed first impressions.

“She was very quiet but engaging,”  Mikaela said. 

Mikaela blushes at Estelle’s first memory of her.

“I thought my girl was bougie. She walked in and I thought, ‘Oh she’s so pretty.’” 

Getting engaged with a game made their first meetings feel comfortable and natural.

“We played mancala. A lot,” Estelle said. “And I usually won.”

Losing didn’t bother Mikaela. It was a simple game and they kept learning about each other.

“When we met over the summers, I even brought a mancala board from home!”

Monthly community service projects were another thread for them.

“We always have a fun time figuring them out together. The butterfly magnets were hard. We had to watch the video a few times to figure the folds out.”

It matters to Estelle and Mikaela that they are caring and thoughtful, respectively. Without meaning to, the pair chose several similar qualities to describe one another, including their playfulness. 

“She’s hysterical,” Mikaela said. “I was able to come to sophomore orientation at her school. I got to see her interact with her mom, her brother, with all her friends, and she just has such a fun presence.”

All kidding aside, the trust they have built in each other matters most. Estelle credits “listening really well” as key. Mikaela has seen a big shift between middle school and high school.

“Once she got into high school, she kind of got to become her own person a little bit. And I think that's really where I saw her grow. She would ask me questions too. She knew things about me.”

Having Mikaela in her corner made the transition easier for Estelle.

“We always talked about going into high school, my emotions, and what it was going to be like.” 

Estelle is surprised anybody would stop being in TeamMates in high school. 

“It’s cool to be in TeamMates. It’s your own time to take a break, just be yourself, connect with a person who wants to help you be yourself.” 

Mikaela sees her displaying greater confidence. And Estelle feels she has a good role model in Mikaela.

“It’s the way that she presents herself, not on the outside, but on the inside. You can really tell what kind of person she is.” 

Like many matches, they have an after-graduation bucket list that includes going down the “big slide” at Firespring where Mikaela works and going out for coffee.

You can learn more about Lincoln TeamMates at https://lincolnteammates.org/.

 

 

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