October 27, 2026
A Jar Full of Marbles
The in-between moments of mentoring
“You have no idea what the ripple effects of your mentorship will be, and you’re most likely never going to enjoy the fruits of that labor. But that is what makes it so special.” - Gresha Shuster, Professional Mentor at Friends of the Children - Portland
Many of us have had mentors throughout our lives in different ways, but at Friends PDX, it’s not just circumstantial: it’s the heart of what we do. We sat down with one of our professional mentors, Gresha Shuster, to talk about the power of these key relationships from his perspective.
Gresha has been a mentor with FriendsPDX for 8 years and has mentored some of the same youth that entire time. That means he has seen kids grow up from kindergarten, has walked alongside them through challenges with family, school, and life’s hardest moments, and has even seen a few of his youth graduate out of the program.
As Gresha reflected on his journey to becoming a professional mentor, he said, “In 7th grade was the first time I ever heard anyone tell me they thought I was smart. I had never seen myself that way… I want to be the person who sees my kids that way and celebrates them.”
FROM RESERVED TO SOARING
Zade and another FriendsPDX youth playing board games.
Gresha has known Zade for most of his time at Friends, but he wasn’t always his mentor. Zade was initially paired with another mentor, but developed a friendship with Gresha during COVID through the FriendsPDX Gaming Spark Squad, which were virtual gatherings based on people’s shared interests. When Zade’s first mentor moved on, Zade and his mom specifically requested to be paired up with Gresha.
“Out of any youth I’ve ever mentored, it was probably the most organic pairing I’ve ever had. It was meant to be.”
Gresha reflected on the time it takes to build a trusting relationship: “You don’t really start mentoring until you’re a few years in. There’s that period where you’re building rapport and trust to get to the place where mentoring actually starts.
"Zade was initially very quiet. He read a lot. He was very intelligent, I could tell. But he was very reserved about the world… he was feeling things out and building trust, but he saw I was the same mentor showing up week in and week out.”
Gresha and Zade started rock climbing at Rock Haven, which is a local climbing gym that gives FriendsPDX a steep discount to be more accessible to youth. At first, Zade was afraid of heights and didn’t trust that he could do it, but Gresha encouraged him to try it a few more times.
“He came down from a climb and was like, ‘That’s too hard. I can’t do it.’… Then he pushed through it and did it, and you could see it in his eyes: ‘I literally thought it was impossible for me and I just did it.’”
Zade is now an avid climber thanks to support from Gresha to give it a try. “I really enjoy the reward of trying again and again,” said Zade. “That's why climbing is really cool and why I've kept going. It’s a really nice blend of physical challenge and intellectual problem solving."
Now, Zade is a 16-year-old who is thoughtful, caring, and intentional. He loves reading, climbing, working out, playing chess, and spending time with his mom and his friends. He’s currently attending college level classes at Portland Community College while finishing his high school diploma.
Zade and Gresha in early 2026.
“Sometimes I sit with him now and I’m like, if you saw the kid he was when I first started mentoring him… it’s like a different human,” said Gresha. “He started off with all the cards stacked against him… and with bravery and courage and intentionality, he has forged his own path in life. He’s soaring like an eagle.”
Zade reflected on their relationship too: “Since my time at Friends, and certainly in my time with Gresha, I sure have changed a lot. My life is a lot more purposeful, and I have more established healthy and productive habits. All of that is really thanks to his encouragement and wisdom.”
THE MARBLE JAR
As Gresha reflected on the process and the heart of mentoring, he commented about how it’s not always about forcing the most perfect interactions, it’s in the everyday moments when mentors show up for their kids.
“A lot of people think it’s big things, like a moment of realization or this perfect outing we planned. But this job happens in the littlest everyday things.
Every time someone does something small for you, they care, they say hello... it’s like a marble getting placed in a jar. When you have that subconscious idea that the jar between the two of you is full of marbles, that’s when the mentoring happens.”
A throughline through all of this is that Gresha knows this is where he is meant to be. “The longer I do it, it’s not even a question. I know this is exactly what I’m called to do.”
Zade on Gresha as a mentor: “Aside of the fact that he's a really encouraging force, he really puts his all into the job. He really tries to help his youth as much as possible, tries to really know them so he can help with whatever challenges they are going through to try and give a framework to live life better.”