KENANSVILLE— The Male Mentoring Academy at James Sprunt Community College, composed of curriculum and barber school students are collaborating on a series of community service projects.

Two projects that have already taken place are the Lunch and Learn motivational workshop and the Public School Proctoring Initiative.

The Lunch and Learn motivational workshop brought together students from B.F. Grady Elementary School with mentees who are participants in the JSCC Male Mentoring Academy. Transportation and lunch on the JSCC campus were provided by the Academy in order to expose the young students to positive role models, to encourage them to achieve high EOG scores, demonstrate good student behavior and study habits. The students also heard personal testimonies from Academy members about their life successes and overcoming their own challenges. They emphasized that personal challenges may be hurdles to overcome, but those challenges should not be used as excuses for failure.

The students were also given motivational talks by Dr. Lawrence Rouse, President of JSCC, Toney Bond, vice president of Student Services JSCC, and June Davis, vice president Curriculum JSCC.

Dovetailing with the Lunch and Learn Motivational Workshop is the Public School Proctoring Initiative. At the request of the public schools, participants in the JSCC Male Mentoring Academy served as proctors in a test trial at B.F. Grady Elementary School during end-of-grade (EOG) testing. According to Jimmy Tate, Director of Strategic Initiatives at James Sprunt Community College, B.F. Grady school administrators gave rave reviews to the JSCC proctors.