After waiting more than four years to get matched with Big Brothers Big Sisters, it would have been easy for Damin to be negative about his experience with the program or give up on the idea of having a Big all together. But he waited patiently, and now has a Big Brother who is exactly what he needs – and he is the 2023 Central Minnesota Little Brother of the Year.
Damin was matched with Brad Bergstrom in November 2020 when he was in the eighth grade. Their first meetings were over Zoom due to COVID restrictions, and Brad remembers Damin being reserved and unsure – but he was also impressed with how mature Damin was for an eighth grader.
It didn’t take long for the reservations to go away, and now the pair is constantly laughing, going to hockey games, or trying new foods. “It didn’t take very long and we just developed a friendship that has become a pretty important part of my life,” Brad said.
Now a sophomore in high school, Damin has developed a trust with Brad that allows him to share his thoughts and feelings not only with Brad, but with other adults in his life. He’s also doing much better in school. With Brad’s help, he’s found ways to connect with the staff at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School, which has helped him improve his grades and his academic performance. “When I started meeting with Brad I started improving my classes and my workload and I gave myself a little more motivation,” Damin said. “I think that was a really big impact he had. If Big Brothers Big Sisters wasn’t part of my life, I think I’d still be doing pretty bad in my classes and missing out on the potential I have.”
Not only is Damin doing better academically, he’s also become very involved at school. He was unable to try out for the baseball team, but he decided to be a manager instead and found great joy in being part of the team that way. He’s also part of the football team, he’s in DECA, he’s been active in Boy Scouts for six years, he’s in Upward Bound and he has a part-time job. Through BBBS, he and Brad have attended Twins games, fishing activities and St. Cloud State events.
“Damin embodies the spirit of a Little in this community that has really overcome a lot of adversity and has put his best foot forward and is doing things the right way,” Brad said. “He’s motivated, he works hard. And he doesn’t just show up – he has a work ethic that’s second to none.”
Damin said that while being named Little Brother of the Year is exciting and a big achievement for both himself and Brad, at the end of the day – he’s just glad he gets to continue to spend time with Brad.
“It is something that’s really big, but that’s not the reason I joined the program,” he said. “The main thing was that’s really good for me and Brad, but I still get to meet with him, and that’s the best part of it.”
