June 16, 2025 | Potomac Shores Golf Club

Mentorship is invisible.

You can't see confidence building. You can't watch doors opening in real time. You can't measure the exact moment when someone starts believing in themselves instead of just hoping.

Until Monday morning at 8:30 AM, when Jordan Fischer made it visible for everyone.

Standing before a gathering of golfers and community leaders, holding a $500 scholarship check and her 2025 Mentee of the Year award, Jordan didn't just thank the Derrick Wood Foundation. She told a story that transformed an abstract concept into something you could touch, feel, and understand.

This is what mentorship looks like when it works.

"A year ago, I was just another high school student," Jordan began, her voice steady despite the emotion in her eyes. "Today, I'm starting at Spelman College in August to study Political Science."

The room went quiet. Not golf-tournament-starting quiet. Something deeper.

"But it wasn't just about getting into college," she continued. "It was about learning I belonged in rooms I never imagined walking into."

That's when she told them about the Virginia State Capitol. About sitting across from lawmakers and judges, asking questions that mattered. About traveling to Washington DC and meeting with Congressman Vindman to discuss policies affecting young people—including the cell phone ban in schools that everyone's debating.

"I asked tough questions," Jordan said, smiling now. "Questions I would never have had the courage to ask without someone believing I deserved answers."

Mentorship isn't a program. It's a transformation. And suddenly, everyone could see it.

Here's what most people don't understand about mentorship: the real work happens in moments no one else witnesses. Late-night phone calls when college applications feel impossible. Practice sessions before big presentations. The quiet conversations that rebuild confidence after setbacks.

But Jordan's story made those invisible moments visible.

When she described walking into the Capitol building for the first time—nervous but prepared because someone had taught her how to research, how to ask questions, how to carry herself in professional spaces—every person listening understood exactly what mentorship produces.

It produces young women who belong at Spelman College. It produces students who can hold their own with congressmen. It produces leaders who ask the questions others are afraid to voice.

This is why the Derrick Wood Foundation exists. Not just to give money, but to create Jordan Fischers. To build leaders who change worlds, starting with their own.

Of course, it was threatening to rain.

Of course, the forecast looked uncertain at 7 AM when Sandra "Queenie" McClean was coordinating volunteers, setting up what would become the most meaningful golf experience most people had ever attended on Jack Nicklaus's masterfully designed course.

Because great stories don't happen on perfect days. They happen when people choose purpose over comfort, mission over convenience.

By tournament time, the energy was undeniable. Eighteen holes of championship golf stretched ahead, along with a $10,000 Hole-in-One Contest that had everyone strategizing. But the real contest had already been won—won when Jordan proved that investing in young leaders creates returns you can't calculate on a spreadsheet.

Then Susan Smallwood from La Grande Caviar Bar appeared on the greens, personally creating what she called "the first-ever golf course grand caviar bump experience." Because when you're celebrating transformation, why not make it extraordinary?

Some events have sponsors. This event had believers.

Tullis Worldwide Protection didn't just provide financial support—they brought their A-game and dominated the tournament, proving you can be generous AND competitive.

Susan Smallwood didn't just send products—she personally came out to create an experience no one would forget.

Dyvine BBQ, J&D Enterprises, Bar Talks, PSC, Patriots 4 Families, Five14—each understood they weren't just funding a golf tournament. They were investing in the next generation of leaders.

Because when you see mentorship working—really working—you want to be part of what comes next.

After eighteen holes of championship golf that somehow felt more like community building, everyone gathered for lunch prepared by Potomac Shores Clubhouse.

This is where the magic multiplied.

Conversations at every table circled back to Jordan's story. Business cards exchanged hands, but not for typical networking reasons. People were asking how to get involved. How to nominate students. How to help create more moments like the one they'd just witnessed.

The 50/50 raffle became secondary entertainment. The real prize was understanding what happens when a community decides to make mentorship visible.

You could feel the momentum building. This wasn't the end of something—it was the beginning.

Here's what Jordan's scholarship check represents:

• Textbooks for freshman year: Covered
• Confidence to engage with lawmakers: Developed
• Belief that she belongs in leadership spaces: Established
• Proof that mentorship transforms lives: Undeniable

Here's what Sunday's tournament accomplished:

• Made the invisible visible: Jordan's story gave face to our mission
• Created believers: Everyone left understanding why this work matters
• Built momentum: New mentorship applications, new volunteers, new partnerships
• Proved the model: Invest in young leaders, watch them change the world

The funds raised will support more students like Jordan, fuel our upcoming teacher supply drive, and ensure families have turkeys on their Thanksgiving tables. But the real victory was watching a room full of adults finally see what mentorship actually produces.

Jordan Fischer will start at Spelman College in August. She'll study Political Science. She'll probably run for office someday, ask tough questions in congressional hearings, make policies that affect millions of people.

And it will all trace back to someone who believed she deserved mentorship.

This is why making mentorship visible matters. Because once you see it working—really see it, the way everyone did on Sunday morning—you can't unsee it. You can't go back to thinking youth development is just a nice idea.

You start seeing Jordan Fischers everywhere. In your community, your neighborhood, your own family. Young people who just need someone to believe they belong in rooms they've never imagined entering.

People are still talking about Monday. Still sharing Jordan's story. Still asking how they can get involved.

Because once mentorship becomes visible, it becomes irresistible.

The next Jordan Fischer is out there. Probably in your community. Maybe wondering if she belongs in spaces she's never seen herself occupy. Maybe one conversation away from believing she can ask tough questions of powerful people.

She's waiting for someone to make mentorship visible in her life.

The Derrick Wood Foundation: Empowering Leaders. Changing Worlds.

🔗 www.DerrickRWood.com

Ready to make mentorship visible? Know a high school student ready to grow? The next Jordan Fischer heading to Spelman could be one conversation away.

Sometimes the most important work happens in moments no one else sees. But every once in a while, on a cloudy Monday morning on a Jack Nicklaus-designed course, the invisible becomes undeniable. That's when you know mentorship is working.