What A Difference A Year Makes
It’s hard to believe that the school year is over already. The group of students I work with in Columbus, the Urban Warriors, have been the favorite part of my day since mid October when we started going back into the schools. I have been able to watch as this group of young men come together as a team and also become stronger individuals. At the same time, they have watched and encouraged me through some of the most trying but also rewarding times of my life. The experiences we have shared are priceless and I am not gonna know what to do with myself this summer while they are on break. This truly was a special year!
I would like to send a special shout out to Indianola Middle School for the level of commitment that they show throughout the school year. Of the three schools we work closely with (East High and Champion and Indianola Middle Schools) Indianola has had by far the most consistent turnout. With more than 40 young men who show up to the Friday in school meetings, Indianola makes up the majority of the Urban Warriors as a whole. I am always impressed with the level of maturity that is displayed by them and I feel that it is a direct reflection of the positive guidance that they receive at home, at school and from their Urban Warrior family. I have met plenty of genuinely concerned adults over the past two years I have been helping with the Warriors but the one person who I see that has consistently gone beyond the call of duty is the Dean of Student Life, Susan McGean. She has been a strong force on the inside who has gone out of her way to assist Brother Devin Shaw as well as myself in doing all that we can to provide the boys with a stellar extra curricular opportunity that most Columbus Public School students will likely never experience.
This school year was a special one at Indianola for more reasons than one. This year is the 100th year for the school which was the first junior high school to be opened in the entire nation. Unfortunately however, this will be the final year for the school as it is. It will be closed next year and will under go renovations in order for it to later re-open as a k-8 French-Spanish Emerson school. I will certainly miss walking through those halls.
