Navy Reserve Mentors Helping High School, At-Risk Kids

SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Navy Reservist assigned to Naval Air Systems Command Reserve Program (NRP)are reaching out to their communities to mentor and coach at-risk teenagers.

When Capt. Paul Shaw and Lt. Cmdr. Kelvin Askew, NRP engineering duty officers, are not in uniform or serving the nation and their civilian employers, they have devoted about 16 years, collectively, of their off-duty lives mentoring teenagers and revealing the opportunities that exist after high school vis-à-vis a program called Reach For Tomorrow, Inc. (RFT).

Founded by Peter Underwood, the non-profit RFT has been mentoring groups of middle school and high school students since 1993.

"The program targets rising high school freshmen, generally, eighth graders, and at-risk students who have the capacity to excel in school but whose current grades or scholastic achievement do not reflect their true potential," Underwood said.

RFT plans summer programs and offers tutoring programs throughout the academic year as part of a complete monitoring cycle called the "Time Line for Success." The "Timeline" lasts through high school encompassing things such as college SAT prep courses, internships, scholarships, and career opportunities supplied or supplemented through web-based learning tools.

"RFT encourages students to improve their grades and establish the foundation needed to get into college and compete for the jobs," Underwood added.

A cornerstone of the program is the initial "Summer Trip", which takes place in a student's first year of participation. In this part of the program a group of students travel to a college, military installation or service academy, or other appropriate and interesting venue. They engage in activities designed to build self-confidence and teamwork, are exposed to appropriate and approachable role models, like Shaw and Askew, and gain a personal appreciation of the opportunities and rewards that education can bring.

In late July and August of this year Shaw and Askew organized summer trips to the U.S. Naval Academy and to University of California in San Diego; 44 middle school youth from Queens, N.Y., got a taste of midshipmen life, while 48 kids from Surry, Va., El Dorado, Ark., and Washington, D.C., experienced campus life at the University of California at San Diego.

Most of the children, whose ages ranged from 14 to 16, came from inner-city areas.

These summer programs were designed with minimal down time to push students beyond what they are normally accustomed. On the trip, students are divided into teams of five or six and work with experienced RFT volunteers. Team leaders supervise and work with the students not only to see that they garner the most out of the trip, but to develop a personal relationship through which they can help the student in subsequent phases or elements of the RFT program.

During these two trips, students piloted a plane, toured a Navy warship in San Diego, sailed 44-foot sail boats at Annapolis, completed a rock climbing course, lived one-on-one with Academy midshipmen, and participated in college level science and engineering labs. By successfully completing these tasks, students were able to visualize themselves as college students, midshipmen, and in future career fields.

The shared experiences of the summer trip occur at a critical juncture in the students' lives.

"All too often, students who may have been enthusiastic, above average performers in school up to this point lose their interest in school, resulting in poor academic performance, and they never recover," Underwood explained.

After the trip, team leaders continue to guide and assist their students throughout their high school careers, tracking their progress and helping them prepare a resume that can improve their chances of being accepted to a top college or service academy.

"Many of the people that the students interact with on these trips are individuals they can relate to in interesting, challenging, and exciting ways. The RFT kids get to see these individuals practicing and aspiring to values such as integrity, public service, and personal excellence," said Askew, who has been a RFT mentor since 2006.

The overarching goal of the program is not to convince teenagers to join the Navy or attend the Naval Academy or any other service school, but to show them what they can achieve if they begin preparing for college in 9th grade.

"If one works toward acceptance at the Naval Academy, for example, one can attend virtually any college in the nation," Shaw said. A graduate of the Naval academy himself, he has been an RFT mentor since 1996.

"As a Navy Reservist it's rewarding to serve my country and the tax payer, and it's also important to be a good neighbor, give something back, mentor, and make a difference."

For more news from Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg, visit www.navy.mil/local/nsamech/.