Young Men and Women of Excellence

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The Young Men of Excellence learn important life skills together.

Markel Bradley, Staff Writer

Young Men of Excellence is a school program that provides the opportunity for male students to be taught to become a “man”. This program emphasizes the importance of respect, hard work, education, and being a gentleman. Being in this class makes it very clear in realizing how much academic and behavioral success is appreciated. Giving back is also a major factor of Men of  Excellence. There are many ways to help around the school, and help those who take the time out to help students on a day-to-day basis; Young Men of Excellence encourages that.

The leader of the flock, Mr. Richburg, takes this program very seriously. Every chance he gets, he lets the Young Men of Excellence know what’s most important to him about this program, and why it is.

“The most important thing about Young Men of Excellence, to me, is creating strong-minded males that are going to go out into the world and make great citizens. I want the students to take out of this program what it means to be a gentleman, a well-rounded individual, and basically a jack of all trades. I want them to be able to do multiple things, and be successful at all of them. Being a Young Man of Excellence means being an upstanding gentleman, somebody that people look to as a resource for help, someone that has good moral values, good face cards, someone who gives back, and who is overall a good upstanding man. To me, a good example of a model student, would be Theo, from The Cosby Show, or Eddie Winslow, from Family matters. Those would be guys that are considered Young Men of Excellence; good candidates for young people.”

Another beneficial student program is Young Women of Excellence. Young Women of Excellence is a program that provides the opportunity for females to understand the value of becoming a woman. This year, there has been a new addition to Young Women of Excellence, entitled ‘Vision’. Vision is a mentoring program and club for female students.

The leader of the program is Mrs. Williams. Mrs. Collins, a dean here at school, and Mrs. Bradley, our Attendance Secretary, help out as well. They all take this program very seriously.  Mrs. Collins

The Young Women of Excellence work in tandem with the YMOE.

shared her purpose and goals for this new addition.

“The most important aspect is that we are able to reach young women who are in need of guidance, direction, and just letting them know someone is there for them. Most importantly, to keep them on track academically and behaviorally. I just want the women to take from this how to represent themselves positively. Most people think it’s better to be heard than seen, but I think it’s better to be seen than heard. The main slogan for the group is ‘Girls with dreams, become women with vision’. Being a woman of vision means you are focused and driven, but you’re also to a point in your life where you can reach out and provide guidance to others.”