Young professionals in western Kentucky are lending an ear to the next generation, providing support, advice and friendship.

Members of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce volunteer through a mentoring program that helps prepare students for their future.

But are Rogers tells us more about guys and ties.

Jake Boswell is back in the classroom where he was once a student.

The kids are very easy to relate to because we have that familiarity.

We were in the same spot they were in.

It's just been a little bit.

A former television news anchor and reporter now in the banking industry.

Boswell sharing knowledge he once needed for his first job interview.

Talk about the language when you start.

I needed a tie, a tie to go to this interview.

I just felt like it was necessary to present myself well, and I had no clue how to do it.

You go to the one time.

It's not something that was ever on my mind.

But there was a time in life when all of a sudden it was needed and I was not prepared.

There you go.

That would later serve as the inspiration for guys and Ties, a monthly mentoring program for eighth graders at Byrnes Middle School.

It's like that for me, and it's good for me to stay at home.

And I think I want to be here like almost every time I get to come in here, learn something new about life.

Can I telling you guys showing up on time.

Those life lessons include practical skills like budgeting and saving money, even vehicle maintenance.

We've had somebody recently change a car tire and they reached out to me to say the only time someone showed me this was guys and ties.

I think it's an opportunity for our students to work on soft skills, social skills.

We all know that our own successes are often built between connections we have and opportunities we have today.

The young men are doing mock job interviews.

Learning how and how not to impress a future employer.

While the topics typically center on professional development, it's also a good time to check in on their grades behavior and what's going on at home.

And the whole goal of the program is always to listen.

They have a lot to say.

And if we sit and listen to them, that's where the real value is.

May talk to me first and make me feel comfortable talking back to them.

We get to know them, so I feel like they should get to know me.

Confidence is such a huge predictor of success in middle school, and when you have people who are interested in you, build your confidence.

Here we go.

The confidence to reach their full potential.

We want to make sure that every single kid who's in guys and Ty's every single year knows that We think that they can be a doctor, they can be a lawyer, they can do whatever they want to do.

I feel like I can do like more things.

I feel I can focus on my goals and focus on getting my grades to go to college.

When you're in middle school, you're still creating your sense of self and who you are.

And I think any time that our students can have role models to look to, to aspire to be to connect with, I think is a great opportunity for them to begin to mold themselves into successful adults.

Yeah, it uses the same lies.

About a dozen students, a year take part in this program.