Young men learn importance of mental strength

An estimated 400 young men from Delaware high schools were on hand for the fourth annual Young Men’s Summit, hosted April 11 by the Pathways for Success program.

“Each one of you has potential. I want you to be everything you can be,” said Fay Blake, director and founder of Pathways for Success. “Listen up, be open-minded, and be everything that will make you strong.” 

Pathways for Success works to prepare youth, adults and their families for successful lives, bringing together students from five school districts for the summit, held at Crossroad Community Church. 

Blake started the organization in 2006. The summit, which has taken place in April for the last four years, invites high school students from local schools to work with a coordinator at each school to learn life skills. Coordinators work to keep students focused, mentoring and tutoring them, Blake said, to make sure they don’t drop out. “We have a 98 percent success rate of having our students graduate on time and a 96 percent success rate of getting them jobs to go into or having them go into the military,” she said. 

An estimated 400 students from Cape Henlopen, Dover, Lake Forest, Milford, and Seaford attended this year’s summit.  Following welcoming remarks, students split up into groups and went to different presentations about becoming mentally strong and raising the bar for success. The presentations were offered by school coordinators, Delaware State Police officers and members of the U.S. Army.

“I have 88 students that I teach,” said William Waters, program coordinator for Cape Henlopen High School. “I discuss life skills and topics that can propel these young men in life. We inspire them to either go into the workforce, college or the military.”

Coordinators help students while they are in school, but they also help them after they graduate. “We stay connected with the students for one year after they graduate,” Waters said. “We give them advice and help them with whatever they need.” 

Waters’ presentation focused on the concept of mind over matter. “I want to challenge you mentally,” he said. He asked two volunteers to spread their arms and hold a large book in each palm, offereing them gift cards if they could do it without dropping the books. “This task is not about physical strength, but mental strength,” he said.  

Jacques Bowe, the program coordinator for Sussex Technical High School, said, “Everyone has their view on what strength is. A lot of these kids are broken. Some are going through hardships. This organization is to help bridge the gap, to show them the importance of strength.”

During his presentation, Bowe suggested students take turns saying negative comments toward their peers. Taking the bait, students began spouting rude things to one another as if at a comedy roast. Afterward, Bowe discussed the importance of not being gullible, and not doing things just because you are told to. 

“What if these kids that you just talked badly toward were going through emotional or hard times?” Bowe asked the students. “Instead of helping them out, you all just put them down even more.”

After an emotional back-and-forth with students, where some students shared touching and personal stories about their home life, Bowe said, “We have a lot of strength in this room.”

Keda Dorisca, program coordinator for Seaford High School said, “Pathways was a driving force in my life. It helped me understand the importance of school and to give back to the community. Our job is to give back to those in need.”

Domineque Scott, program coordinator for Milford High School, has been with the Pathways program for one year. Before that, Scott was in South Africa, coaching sports in disadvantaged communities. “I joined Pathways because of the nonprofit aspect, to make an impact with at-risk kids,” Scott said. 

After lunch, Delaware State Police Master Cpl. Rick Hargis told the students, “We’ll be talking about the trust factor, and the disconnect between police and the community.”  Hargis went on, “We are going to talk about the life experiences of these students as well as our own experiences, and to find out about their dislike for police.”

In the gymnasium, Army Sgt. First Class Matthew Fulham, station commander for the Georgetown Army recruiting station, and Staff Sgt. Michael Musgrove gave a lesson on discipline. After having the students line up in military formation, the two asked them what they thought strength and discipline consisted of, accompanied by wind sprints and yelling. 

“Overall, it’s really eye-opening for the boys,” said Sarah Gilmour, outreach coordinator.

The Delaware Department of Labor has provided the Pathways program with 70 percent of the funding needed to operate. The program provides in-school support to prepare at-risk and low-income high school youth for successful lives. 

For more information, go to www.pathways-2-success.org.