Fraternity members exemplify the ‘men’ in mentoring

WARREN — When members of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity’s Tau Mu Nu Chapter brought their mentoring program for young men to Lincoln High School, they wanted to offer enough support to make each member feel welcome.

Members of the Macomb County chapter decided, too, to share their own life experiences while also highlighting the importance of education. Teaching life skills, such as tying a necktie and being punctual, also were stressed.

The chapter’s One Man Eager to Get Ahead Academy meets every Tuesday evening at the high school for conversation, inspiration and projects designed to help young men build a strong foundation.

“We want to let them know we are here in the community,” said David Forney, president, Omega Academy-Macomb. “We want to make our community stronger (through) fiscal literacy, public speaking, and mental health awareness. The guys are dedicated. They are here every Tuesday evening.”

Lincoln High School social worker Glynis Dale brought the program to the school after meeting several Omega members through a career readiness workshop. The college graduates are from the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity’s Tau Mu Nu Chapter in Macomb County.

Police officers, educators, architects, engineers and a commercial airline pilot are among the fraternity members. The group also recruited members who were not part of the fraternity but wanted to volunteer their time as well. The Omega Academy focuses on four areas: manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift.

“We use those four pillars to lift them up to be great young men in our community. Our overall goal is to build up, encourage and enlighten young African American men,” said Lynn Sanders, mentoring chairman, Omega Academy-Macomb. “We teach them how to overcome obstacles. We talk about what it means to be a man and the qualities that come with that: hard work, being disciplined, being dependable, honest and a person of good character.”

On Feb. 24, the event started at 5 p.m. with dinner inside the school cafeteria, followed by a presentation from Howard Webb, Omega Academy-Macomb program director, regarding the importance of presenting yourself in a professional manner.

Then, to get their blood pumping, the students from all three school levels — elementary, middle and high school — jogged around the room before sitting in groups by age to work on their critical thinking skills.

During the brainstorming session, the students thought of what items, from the least to the most important, they would take if they were stranded on a deserted island. Their answers included a water filter for fresh water, a first aid kit, a knife, a fishing rod, a compass, flares and an axe to hunt animals for food and to cut down trees to gather leaves for shelter.

“When they start thinking, you can see those wheels turning,” said LaTawn Crocker, academic facilitator, Omega Academy-Macomb. “They’re communicating with each other and they’re challenging each other. Of course, we’re going to fail but as we fail, we start over again.”   

The Feb. 24 gathering continued when the students gathered in three groups by grade levels to build a tower using masking tape, dry spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. They had 20 minutes to complete their creation. The goal was to build the tower as tall as possible, and it had to stand for 30 seconds.

“I’m going to ask them to take into consideration their survival needs and the natural resources,” Crocker said. “Each group is going to work with their mentors. When the exercise is over, we’re going to talk about which problems you ran into and how did you solve those problems. Let’s work through some of those emotions.”

At the 10-minute mark, they were given 10 more noodles. At the end of the assignment, the high school students were deemed the winners.

Lincoln Middle School eighth grader KeiMari Tillman, who recited the Omega Academy’s creed at the end of the session, started with the program last year.

“It’s real fun. They teach us a lot of things. They tell us what we need to survive, and they always make sure we are OK and checking up on us. At first when I came here, I didn’t want to be here. Now I love it,” he said. “They helped me get through my grandparents’ passing. I lost both of my grandmas and my grandpa. They talked me through it. I really appreciate them.”

He found the tower building “challenging.”

“The noodles kept breaking,” Tillman said. “We had a square base, then we made a pyramid so it wouldn’t fold.”

This is the second year Lincoln High School senior Amir White has been involved in the program. He said he enjoys the camaraderie.

“I feel like I get a lot out of it. These guys here help me with homework and to get better grades,” said White, who attends with his younger brother Mervin White. “I think it’s a blessing. Not a lot of people would take time out to be here with us. Their goal here is to be that role model for us.”

Last month, the fraternity members held an American Red Cross blood drive at Lincoln High School. They also have taken the Van Dyke students on field trips to Little Caesars Arena to watch the Detroit Pistons play and the Selfridge Air National Guard Base air show.