VGCC Student Recognized for Mentoring

Vance-Granville Community College student J’Maine Richardson of Henderson was recognized at a celebration of National Mentoring Month for the counties of Franklin, Vance, Warren and Granville. The event was held at the Aycock Recreation Center in Henderson on Jan. 24, a day which was set aside as “Thank Your Mentor Day.” Richardson was one of several VGCC students in the “Men-on-a-Mission” male mentoring program at VGCC who attended.

Linwood Martin, the Vance County Friends of Youth program supervisor and a VGCC Human Services Technology graduate, said he hoped to use the event to raise awareness of mentoring and to recruit new mentors. At the event, Richardson and others were presented with certificates signed by Gov. Mike Easley in appreciation for providing volunteer service to the people of North Carolina as a mentor. Richardson has worked with Martin’s middle-school-age mentees. “As a college student, J’Maine tells them how he got to where he is, and shares with the kids,” Martin said. “He has connected very well.”

Martin, who receives referrals of young people from courts, schools and other sources, noted that he is always looking for volunteers with all sorts of backgrounds. VGCC Student Activities coordinator Peyton Boyd referred Richardson to Martin.

At VGCC, Richardson is majoring in Recreation and Leisure Studies, is a college ambassador and has been active in the college’s Student Government Association. In 2007, Richardson was selected as one of just 28 community college students to participate in the North Carolina Community College Student Leadership Institute (SLI).

Gov. Mike Easley proclaimed January as Mentoring Month to encourage North Carolinians to become mentors and to recognize those already involved in mentoring. The theme for this year’s National Mentoring Month observance was “Share What You Know. Mentor a Child.”

The “Men-on-a-Mission” Male Mentoring Program, also called M2, is designed to assist first-year ethnically diverse students in acquiring the confidence, resources and skills needed to succeed academically and socially at Vance-Granville. The program places emphasis on academic success and also addresses retention and transitional issues that impact college student development. For more information on the VGCC mentoring program, contact VGCC Director of Counseling Daniel Alvarado at (252) 738-3282 or Peyton Boyd at (252) 738-3445.

Above: VGCC Director of Counseling Daniel Alvarado (left) and Student Activities coordinator Peyton Boyd (right) congratulate student J’Maine Richardson (center) on his recognition from Gov. Easley. (VGCC photo)