Winston-Salem State Students Volunteer as Mentors at Ashley

In the Friday Oct. 7 issue of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Arika Herron writes about students at Winston-Salem State University volunteering as mentors at Ashley. Here is an excerpt:

One after another, eager faces popped out of Ashley Academy’s fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms Thursday morning. The faces — all boys — were searching the small crowd gathering in the hallway for one certain person: their mentor.

Each of Ashley’s male students in its fourth and fifth grades has been matched with a mentor from Winston-Salem State University, who will meet with their Ashley students every other week. After just their first meeting, many of Ashley’s students were already looking out for their new friend.

Anthony Rentaria, a fourth-grader at Ashley, said he has been looking forward to the next visit from his mentor, WSSU junior Kadjiah Henderson.

“It was great,” Anthony said about his first mentoring session with Henderson.

The students are paired with the same mentors throughout the first semester, meeting in their small groups every other Thursday for an hour of unstructured time to hang out, talk, play or get extra help with school work.

“I like walking around,” said Hassan Carter, a fifth-grade student who spent his hour outside, walking the school grounds with mentor Cam’ron Sorey. “We don’t get to walk around in class.”

Sorey, a freshman at WSSU, had his hands full with Hassan and two other boys, swinging on poles and bounding up the hill behind the school.

“The kids are really funny,” Sorey said, “and really gifted.”

For the full story, go to Winston-Salem Journal