Company grade officer, college graduate and mentor

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. J. Paul Croxon
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Ben Franklin Elementary School is full of the contrast between the big and the little -- big teacher's desk, little desks for the students; big pencils for the small untrained hands, small pencils for the practiced.

Every other week there is another big person in the classroom in contrast to the child she mentors. About once every other week, young officers from the wing take time out of their duties to help children with their studies.

"When the program started [last October], the mentors were assigned a student who was previously identified by the teacher," said 1st Lt. Denise Marquez, 319th Mission Support Group. "The kids chosen for this program are in need of extra attention because they may be having problems keeping up with their schoolwork and may possibly have issues at home [that has an effect on them at school]."

According to Lieutenant Marquez, the 23 mentors are participating in the second version of the program. In early 2006 there was a more informal program where five or six officers would read and play with children every couple of weeks. The current iteration of the program uses a spreadsheet to work around scheduling conflicts such as training or deployments.

Despite the military tie, the program is focused on helping local children succeed.

"The mentorship program is a great opportunity for us to interact with the children of the community," said 1st. Lt. Jessica Switzer. "The children benefit from the one-on-one mentoring and tutoring. They are able to ask questions about anything and get personal answers. We take time to listen to what they have to say. We're also able to help them with their school work and encourage them to reach their potential."

When looked at from the point of view of the big, it's a way of using their life experiences and education to help a struggling child; but from the point of view of the little, it's getting help with school from their hero.