January 2025

Tino Melchor - A Mentor for Young Teens in the Making

By Edward A. Rinderle
Posted: 09/17/2024

Celestino Melchor, Jr., Tino for short, is the latest intern to sign up with Pasadena Village.  Tino is a student at CalState Northridge, where he is majoring in Psychology.  He is the oldest of four siblings, having two brothers and one sister.  Although his father passed away when he was just 16, his family roots are deep.  His grandparents were born in Puebla, Mexico, and each pair produced twelve kids! Talk about a large family!

Looking for places both to serve and to learn, Tino recently went online to seek out community-based activities. It was in this search that he found Pasadena Village. In his words, the Village attracted him  due to its philosophy of “empowering individuals to be part of a community.” Tino has already participated in several of the Village's activities (he mentioned the decluttering group, in particular), and has enjoyed the stories related by Villagers. In short, the Village has begun to feel like a second home to him. 

Tino's extracurricular interests include Muay Thai (a form of kick-boxing) and jazz. He is especially interested the jazz of the 1950s, such as the piano or trumpet virtuosity of the likes of Chet Baker, Miles Davis, and Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong. He has also taken to a newer genre called LoFi.  As Tino puts it, LoFi's relaxing beats provide “great music to study by”. 

Upon completing his undergraduate degree, Tino plans to pursue a Master of Social Work (MSW) and to become licensed. He is further interested in pursuing various areas of mental health, with special focus on young teens. With them, he sees opportunities to act as a mentor or advocate, providing support as needed and teaching them the value of acceptance. He says “I want to provide things I needed growing up but didn't get due to the early death of my father”. 

Tino is an outgoing young man with an open heart and a desire to help. Pasadena Village is fortunate to have him in their fold.