by Dennis Dalman
Last year, Emmy Baggenstoss of St. Joseph knew a fellow classmate who signed up to be a “Big Sister” to a “Little Sister” in the organization known as “Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota.”
Baggenstoss listened with keen interest and curiosity as the classmate went into detail about how fun and rewarding her bond with her “Little” had become.
Right there and then, Baggenstoss, who is now 18, decided to join the organization at the start of her 2023-24 school year at Cathedral High School. And that is exactly what she did.
She became a mentor-friend to a young St. Cloud girl named Elyse.
“I always loved working with little kids,” Baggenstoss said. “Elyse is a second-grader at Westwood Elementary School in St. Cloud, and she and I get together at the school every other week.”
Emmy and Elyse love to color and draw pictures, and they also enjoy reading books together. Sometimes Emmy brings her Nintendo Switch because Elyse and her like to play games on it.
“Elyse is very talkative and energetic,” Baggenstoss said. “We have so much fun together.”
Emmy is the daughter of Lori and Joe Baggenstoss of St. Joseph.
“My parents think my mentoring with Elyse is super cool,” she said. “The Big Brothers Big Sisters program is a great opportunity, so if anybody has a chance to become part of it, they definitely should. It’s so awesome what so many people are doing for other kids.”
In her spare time from schoolwork, Baggenstoss said she loves to play tennis and hang out with friends and family.
Anyone interested in becoming part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program should find out more about it by going online to “Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota.” Or another way to do it is to email Emmitt@BigDefenders.org.
Ellie Baggenstoss of St. Joseph (right) is the mentor for her mentee, Elyse (left). Both are members of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota. Baggenstoss is a senior at Cathedral High School; Elyse is a second-grader at St. Cloud’s Westwood Elementary School.
