Mentor Spotlight

Mentor Spotlight: Zabrina PentonZabrina Penton is a wife, mother, career woman, and mentor. She chose to become a Take Stock in Children mentor for the Volusia County program because she felt that it was a great way of helping students stay focused in school and succeed in a career. She also found it to be a great way of giving back to the community. Zabrina and her family say it is very important to be involved in the community by making a positive impact on childrens’ lives. One of the main things that attracted Zabrina to mentoring for Take Stock in Children was that she knew firsthand the importance of going to college and earning a degree. Click here to read the full story. As a mentor,  Zabrina says, not only is she able to develop a great relationship with her mentee, Tomaree, but she earns a valuable life experience through helping her mentee get one step closer to achieving her academic goals. As a TSIC scholar, Tomaree will have the opportunity to get a scholarship that will help pay for college as well as the fact that it will open doors for her future personally and professionally. As someone who was once a student herself, Zabrina can relate to her mentee. She knows how overwhelming the process of choosing the right college and career can be. Zabrina remembers when she was in high school and wanted to be a doctor or an architect. But in the end, she graduated with a degree in civil engineering. Zabrina had a high school teacher who was like a mentor, not only for her, but for numerous students. This teacher helped with the process of applying for college and learning about different career opportunities, also making them aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Zabrina will never forget how helpful it was to have somebody available and able to answer all the questions. 

Zabrina and her husband, Demian, have resided in Deland, FL for the last seven years. Zabrina and her husband have two children: Marco (5) and Victoria (10 months). Marco is in kindergarten and practices martial arts. Victoria is a very happy and active baby. Her husband works as an independent Financial Adviser, and Zabrina works for The State of Florida’s Department of Transportation as a Traffic Professional Engineer. They enjoy going camping, bike riding, running, walking, and traveling as a family.