CHARLOTTE — College life can be demanding, but some students at UNC Charlotte are still making time to help out younger students in local high schools.
“In high school, I was pretty much just baseball, baseball, baseball, all the time. I ended up getting injured, and so kind of had to find a new purpose,” Sawyer Hook told Channel 9′s Elsa Gillis.
That bump in the road led Hook to what he calls his new purpose. He’s a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and he’s a mentor.
“I think that community service and mentorship has definitely fulfilled me in that way. I don’t think I’d rather play anymore, to be honest, knowing that I’m happy doing what I’m doing right now,” Hook said.
It’s a partnership between Druid Hills Academy and UNC Charlotte. About 25 elementary school kids go visit their mentors at the college campus every week; they spend time together reading, learning, and playing. Druid Hills leaders say they’ve watched many of the shy kids open up, and the overall impact is noticeable.
“Oh, I think it could take a kid that wasn’t even thinking about college, and now in fifth grade they’re out on a UNC [Charlotte] campus and seeing the awesomeness and the opportunity,” said Beth Marshall, the principal at Druid Hills Academy.
Latonya Baldwin, the dean of students at Druid Hills, agreed with Marshall and pointed out more benefits of the program.
“I believe that it’s enhancing their emotional capacity. It’s enhancing their social ability,” Baldwin said.
“As a kid, I grew up in a college town, and I would also be at the Rec Center, be at the YMCA, all that, and I used to have mentors,” Hook said. “I realized how much I looked up to them.”
The younger students told Gillis they feel the same way.
“I was kind of nervous but then when me and my friend got together, excited to go,” said Kadin, a student at Druid Hills Academy.
“I was scared before I saw them but now I’m used to seeing them, so I’m happy to be there,” said Maliyah, another student at Druid Hills Academy.
As they enter their second semester of the program, Hook says he’s also opened up more. He also encourages others to lean into community service.
“I knew that making a kid’s day better or shedding my light in somebody else’s darkness would definitely for sure make me feel like a complete guy,” Hook said.
The elementary school is looking to expand the program. Parents of kids from Kindergarten to fifth grade at Druid Hills Academy can apply for their children to be enrolled.
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