Photo By Capt. Rick Scoggins | Sgt. 1st Class Michael Conner II displays an Army Challenge Coin given to one of his...... read more read more
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RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina National Guard is “Always Ready” when it comes to serving the community. For more than a month, three N.C. Guardsmen have volunteered their personal time, highlighting the Guard as part of the local fabric.
The Soldiers: 1st Sgt. Montague Williams, Sgt. 1st Class Charlene Johnson and Sgt. 1st Class Michael Conner, II, have made great progress in helping young students at East Cary Middle School in Cary, N.C., by instilling value systems and teaching the power of positive thinking and goal setting methods to achieve personal success.
“We began this mentorship program as part of our Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS), this year,” said Cassie West, a sixth grade language arts teacher and PBIS Chair for the program. “We were looking for students to develop positive interactions with adults, build their self esteem, to set realistic goals for themselves and to see how what they are doing now will affect their future.”
The mentorship program began by East Cary establishing relationships with volunteers from various organizations, such as private business, the N.C. Guard and any other interested participants (especially parents or caretakers of students from the school). The program specifically targeted students who may be having academic or behavioral challenges in school. The mentors would then provide a positive resource for students to reach out to and model themselves after.
“As this is our first year, we've started with a small, identified group of students who were recommended by classroom teachers,” said West.
The N.C. Guard members brought with them a wealth of practical military and world experience that they in turn used to motivate and educate their student groups. The lessons learned prepare the students for life challenges as well as academics.
“When I was growing up I started to get in trouble in middle school,” said Conner, who serves full-time in the N.C. Guard as the Flight Operations/Readiness Noncommissioned Officer for the Operational Airlift Support (OSA) Detachment 17 in Morrisville. “I also want to be a history teacher when I retire from the military and thought that this would be a good opportunity to see how I work with middle school aged students.”
Likewise other Soldiers felt compelled to contribute as well to help shape the lives of young people in our communities.
“My son recently graduated high school and is now a freshman at Winston Salem State University,” said Johnson, who serves as the NCNG State Personnel Security Manager, responsible for ensuring all N.C. Guardsmen are in compliance with current Department of Defense security protocols. “I was so involved in his high school activities, when I initially heard of this opportunity; I thought it would be a good way to fill a void in his absence.”
The program, which began in late September, is making great strides in improving students’ overall perception of their academics and attitudes in school.
“The ECMS staff is very supportive, and excited to be seeing results in individual students’ behavior, responsibility, and attitude towards school,” said West. “Some students have shown more initiative with their schoolwork and are excited about the days they get to visit and ask for help from mentors.”
“The mentoring has benefited them in more ways than one, for example it [program] encourages them to be successful in the class room as well as in athletics,” said Williams. Williams serves full-time as a Logistics Program Analyst who ensures the NCNG stays in compliance with the State Command Supply Discipline Program, which regulates and controls military logistics processes and operations for the N.C. Army National Guard.
“This program has not only helped the students but assisted me as well to develop my leadership skills and approaches to be the best I can possibly be,” Williams said.
“It took great leaders before me to develop me into the leader I am today through mentorship,” said Johnson. “I hope each lesson learned and all that I've absorbed from previous leaders will enable me to mold and shape future leaders”
The mentors meet with their students once a week. Overall, the three Soldiers share a genuine care and concern for the students they mentor. They teach the students about the Army Values and the importance of respect, hard work and dedication so that they can be the best that they can be.
As a show of thanks, all three mentors gave their student groups U.S. Army Challenge Coins, engraved with the seven Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage.
Williams said he has used the Army Values as the foundation for his civilian and military career and that he enjoys passing along these same character traits to the youth of today because he feels like those values will help them to achieve future success.
The values Williams, Johnson and Conner reinforce are also in line with PBIS principles: Responsibility, Fairness, Honesty, Integrity, Kindness, Citizenship, Respect and Perseverance. Each mentor uses their group sessions to instill these principles in the students they coach as well.
“Our NCNG Soldiers have shared personal stories with students about their individual trials and successes, have shown up outside of regular mentoring hours to check on students, offer tutoring help, and supplied their own resources to help ECMS and the students they are working with,” said West.
Johnson talked about how she mentors three young women and that they collectively use the group setting to share different aspects of both their academic and personal lives. Johnson then works with the students to assess problem solving techniques and options to positively overcome some of their challenges and achieve overall success.
Conversely Conner said he has helped his students to get organized so that they can better track their homework and other assignments. These organizational skills help to make the students more responsible for their own educations.
“Students and mentors have been able to bond over similar situations and experiences which have helped to build trust and a working relationship,” said West. “In the future, we hope to continue expanding the program, by looking at other data and information from the PBIS committee.”
The mentorship program has worked to develop a strong bond with the N.C. National Guard. It is bonds like this that help to connect the Guard with the communities in which we serve. Williams, Johnson and Conner are shining examples of Guard members who serve throughout all 100 counties of the state and they demonstrate what it is to be an “Always Ready, Ready Team.”
East Cary Middle School is a year-round public school that emphasizes a focus on a S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) curriculum in order to prepare their students for a post secondary education and technology and science-based occupations.
| Date Taken: | 11.12.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.24.2014 14:06 |
| Story ID: | 148675 |
| Location: | CARY, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 111 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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