CID Unit Corry Station Staff, Students Volunteer Through Saturday Scholars

PENSACOLA, Fla. (NNS) -- Forty-eight students from Holm Elementary School in Pensacola, Fla., received five weekends of one-on-one mentoring from staff and students from the Center for Information Dominance (CID) Unit Corry Station, culminating in a Feb. 23 graduation.

These students or "mentees" from Holm Elementary School were teamed up with 56 Navy and Marine Corps "mentors," most of whom are "A" School students at CID Unit Corry Station. The volunteers helped the students with several core subjects, which included math, reading and computer science.

Since 1985 the Navy community outreach program has provided an opportunity for military personnel to directly impact the community's youth. CID Unit Corry Station was one of the first commands involved in the pilot program for Saturday Scholars.

This marks the 56th Saturday Scholars session and the 28th year that CID Unit Corry Station has hosted the program, making it the longest, continuously running Saturday Scholars program in the Navy.

Holm Elementary School Principal Debra Simpkins noted that the military personnel were not that much older than her students.

"I think that's why your Sailors serve as good role models," Simpkins said. "They are not too different in age, and they (her children) can see themselves in the future."

This mentoring relationship is the foundation and heart of why the Saturday Scholars program is so successful.

"The students often come from homes with poverty and instability," Debbie King, Escambia County School District Coordinator for Community Involvement Programs, said. "When a group of children walk into a room to meet their mentor, they are in awe of the uniform and presence of the military service members."

The five Saturday Scholars sessions were four to five hours each, and concluded with a graduation ceremony, which was held at the National Museum of Naval Aviation on board Naval Air Station Pensacola.

By the time each of the Saturday Scholars graduated from the program, they received approximately 24 hours of one-on-one tutoring. It is hoped that this individualized attention from the service members will help the children succeed later in school.

Saturday Scholar Mentor Seaman Apprentice Jazmin Thomas, of Orlando, Fla., said the impact the program had was far greater than she had initially thought.

"My protoge's mother came up to me at graduation and said that her daughter now wants to join the Navy," Thomas said.

CID Unit Corry Station Saturday Scholars Program Coordinator Chief Cryptologic Technician Technical (IDW/AW/NAC) Jarrot Rachal said the elementary students weren't the only ones who benefited from the program.

"The impact of this program on the kids is immeasurable, be it emotionally or academically," Rachal said "But, I think it does a lot of good for our military members as well; they learn as much as they teach."

"I first saw Saturday Scholars as a way to pass the time, but by the end I saw what a good impact it had on the community as a whole," Thomas said. "I also earned a new friend that I will continue to mentor for years to come."

He added that even though Corry Station is a Navy base, Army and Marine Corps service members have contributed greatly to this valuable and worthy program from its inception. The success of Saturday Scholars - like our military presence overseas - is not just the result of one single service; and the children of Holm Elementary School have benefitted from this collaborative effort.

"It was absolutely fantastic," Simpkins said. "The impact is life changing for some of our boys and girls."

CID Unit Corry Station is the Navy's leading command to train and develop Full Spectrum Joint Cyber and Signals Intelligence Warriors capable of conducting Information Dominance operations across the entire range of military operations.

For more news from Center for Information Dominance, visit www.navy.mil/local/corry/.