Dream Academy News | Student and Mentor Visit the White House
Friday January 22, 2010
At no point in time did Howard University student Nijuel Porter think that volunteering to mentor 12 year old Ernest would lead to an invitation to the White House for a mentor event hosted by the First Lady Michelle Obama. “I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself,” Nijuel said as he prepared for the big day. “This is awesome. Really awesome.”
Nijuel and Ernest attended the White House ceremony in the East Room on January 20th. President Barack Obama joined the ceremony to proclaim January National Mentoring Month, and urged Americans to give back to young people. “Mentors help children grow into productive and responsible adults,” said President Obama.”
U.S. Dream Academy’s Founder and CEO Wintley Phipps and Executive Director Diane Wallace Booker were also in attendance with their partners National CARES Mentoring Movement (NCMM) Founder and CEO Susan Taylor, Rustin Lewis, President of NCMM, and Roxanna Bilaal, Washington, D.C. Cares Circle Leader.
After the event, Ernest had an opportunity to greet the First Lady and take a picture of her. Then he and Nijuel mingled with the other guest, where they met Michael Blake, Deputy Associate Director, Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement for White House Domestic Policy Council. Ernest told Mr. Blake that he dreamed of one day becoming the President of the United States.
Nijuel joined the U.S. Dream Academy as a mentor at the Washington, DC Dream Academy Learning Center, after listening to a presentation on campus by Mentor Coordinator Christopher Gross. He began going to the center weekly to mentor a group of kids at first and finally got connected with his mentee Ernest. “He’s a great kid and really smart,” said Nijuel. “I enjoy working with him because he asks a lot of questions and listen. He has so much potential.”
National Mentoring Month is spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project of the Harvard School of Public Health, MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership, and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
