The Butterfly Effect — Leif Liljequist
The butterfly effect is the idea that small changes cause ripple effects that grow larger and larger – like throwing a rock in a pond. For Leif Liljequist, Board member and youth mentor at Great Life Mentoring, he sees this happening daily with the kids Great Life Mentoring helps.
“If we can help even one child who was headed down a ‘bad’ path veer towards a ‘good’ path, it can change an entire community,” Leif shares. “The butterfly effect is particularly applicable with mentoring and GLM. Each kid that grows up to be a socially conscious, kind, contributing member of society will touch hundreds of other lives as well. The good just compounds.”
A northern California transplant, Leif went to college at The Evergreen State College and never left the Pacific Northwest. He now works in the tech industry and is obsessed with pickleball. He plays twice a week and belongs to multiple associations.
Vancouver, WA Youth Mentoring Makes an Impact
Leif and his wife often give back to their community through donations to charities and volunteering at events and park clean-ups. In 2021, Leif was searching for volunteer opportunities near Vancouver, WA, and came across a youth mentoring opportunity near him. “It sounded the coolest, so I made contact with Great Life Mentoring that same day,” he says.
Since then, Leif has immensely enjoyed the impact he can make as a youth mentor. He says it can take a few months to break the ice and get comfortable with each other, but after that, the change in the youth is incredible. “I've loved watching my kiddo bloom,” he shares. “He has changed so much in the two years, and I am insanely proud of the young man he is becoming. It's also super effortless and fun to hang with him now. We have a deep companionship that’s easy and flows well.”
After seeing firsthand the effect of Great Life Mentoring’s evidence-based mentorship program, Leif was excited to do more. “I jumped at the chance to serve on the Board and be a part of getting GLM to more kids, more mentors, and more communities,” he says. “It was an easy decision.”
Leif has seen the butterfly effect firsthand with Great Life Mentoring and knows that youth mentoring is the key to a better tomorrow. “I'm so proud of the work our current Board, Elizabeth and I have done this last year,” he adds. “We are a bit like a start-up that's growing quickly and learning on the fly. Doing something to make the world a better place, with a bunch of other smart, passionate people, is an innately rewarding experience. I'm thrilled to see what we will accomplish in the future!”
To help amplify the butterfly effect, become a youth mentor with Great Life Mentoring or donate to their youth mentoring program in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR. This one small decision can have a huge impact.
