The Gainesville Enrichment Mentoring Program was recognized at a Gainesville City Commission meeting Thursday as an exceptional program to help students be the best they can be.
“In our community, we have some students who have a great deal of potential, but who may face challenges,” said Mayor Craig Lowe, who has a mentee at Howard Bishop Middle School.
The mentors help their mentees overcome those roadblocks with encouragement and advice.
Cecil Howard, director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, said it makes a difference when a student hears “You can do it,” and “I believe in you.”
“They get to the point when they don’t want to disappoint you,” Howard said.
Timothy Miles, a seventh-grader at Abraham Lincoln Middle School, said he likes to be challenged, and he has concrete goals.
But he said he has some bad habits, like not turning in his homework on time. He said his mentor, Commissioner Scherwin Henry, encourages him often to change those habits.
“It’s pretty strong,” Miles said about how much his mentor encourages him.
