Mentors and mentees honored at 10th-annual ceremony

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

Embry-Riddle Dean of Students Jason Glenn said in his speech, “If we reach one, it’s better than reaching none at all,” at the African American Mentoring Program’s 10th-annual recognition and awards banquet Thursday, May 21, at First Baptist Church of Palm Coast. Seniors from both Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast High Schools, who are headed to college with the help of their mentors and parents, stood together at the ceremony.

Andy Isaac, who was awarded two scholarships, never thought he would be in a position to go to college, but after seven years in the program, he led all the mentees with the highest grade-point average.

“The reason why my family moved to Palm Coast is because my brother and I were knuckleheads, getting into everything,” Isaac said. “I was skipping church, and I ran into Mr. (John) Winston, and then Mr. Richard Frazier took over. It’s my fault they have some grey hairs, but they molded me into a man. They stressed education to me every Wednesday at lunch, and I finally brought my GPA up to a 3.5.”

Kristopher McCall, recipient of the AAMP Young Men of Distinction Scholarship, shares Isaac’s story. He, too, was a kid with bad grades, on the path to becoming another statistic. He is now ready for a secondary education.

“The mentoring program, to me, was life-changing,” McCall said. “It changes our lives from a younger age to high school years. When I allowed my GPA to fall close to a 2.0 this year, my mentor helped me bring it up to a 2.8. It’s definitely been a great experience.”

McCall also emceed the event, accompanied with his grandmother, Evelyn Rebostini, who won Parent/Guardian of the Year Award for her dedication to the mentoring program.

Guest speaker Glenn didn’t hold any punches toward the parents. While he thanked them, as well as the mentors for the kids, he also exhorted parents to for the education issue at home.

“The major difference between distinction and extinction is education,” Glenn said.

After the Matanzas High School Steel Drum Band entertained the party during dinner, John Winston handed out awards to mentors and mentees, also acknowledging esteemed guests in attendance.

“This was, by far, the most outstanding of all the award ceremonies to this day,” Winston said. “I see more awareness in the children. They’re starting to realize that all we’ve been telling them is starting to come to fruition. I had to bury a 25-year-old last week. He drifted away from us. It broke my heart. To lose a young person really destroys you, so we’re going to keep pushing, and if we can save one, we’re going to save one.”

While there are great things to celebrate about the program, an ongoing issue is the lack of middle-age mentors for the kids. Winston believes those with jobs and kids are hesitant to give up more time to other kids, so they are compelled to recruit retirees.

“If they would at least try it and put that first foot forward in a child’s life, the rewards are so great, they will never look back,” he said. “The average age of our men is 60-83. We’ve been blessed by men that have stepped forward, but we need younger men that can speak to today’s youth. But, no matter what, we’re going to keep going.”