While all MEGA Mentors students received Certificates of Participation for their involvement in the organization, 37 students from across 13 schools and programs were recipients of "Student of the Year" Awards. In addition, "Mentors of the Year" were recognized, which were awarded to Azelia Scott and Andy Edlow. The "Coordinator of the Year" was won by Cecelia Greenwood of Meadowbrook HS. The "Liaisons of the Year" awards were given to Mary Gordon and Harlan Walker.

The "MEGA School of the Year" award went to Manchester High School, in recognition to their strong program record and positive feedback from mentors and mentees. Their award includes a $5,000 check that goes to support in-school programming efforts.

Dominion Energy received the "Community Partner of the Year" award in honor of the partnership and support they have provided to MEGA. The event's guest speaker, Utibe Bassey, VP of Customer Experience at Dominion Energy, received the award along with President Ed Baines.

Congratulations to all participants and awardees!

A total of 19 students from Ettrick ES, Hening ES, Salem Church MS, Carver College and Career Academy, and James River HS participated in the FABS student art sale this year. Congratulations to them for their artistic contributions!

Photo caption: The Salem Church Middle School Art Department receives a check from MEGA Mentors. From left: Classroom mentors Rueben Turner and Arya Pazhwak; SCMS student; mentor Patrice Turner; SCMS teacher, Nicholas Olson, SCMS principal; SCMS student; SCMS teacher; SCMS student; and classroom mentor Rueben Turner. (Photo courtesy of Jim Heard.)

The MEGA Mentors Information Technology Camp recently concluded its Spring 2023 session with much groundwork laid and hopes for future endeavors to come. Nine MEGA Mentors’ high schoolers participated in the seven-session program between January and April.

Peyton Chichester, the CCPS lead Cisco networking instructor, introduced the students to a range of IT topics between and explored potentials career fields within them.

On select Saturday mornings at the Chesterfield Technical Center’s Courthouse campus, students logged into their computer stations and learned the elements of Cybersecurity, Hardware Basics, Windows and Linux Administration, CyberPatriot, and more. Breakfast was provided for the participants and student assistants from Mr. Chichester’s other programs were present to facilitate the sessions.

MEGA Mentors and Mr. Chichester are proud to have collaborated in the past to hold these IT and Cybersecurity-focused camps specifically for MEGA students, with hopes for many more to continue in the future. Special thanks to Mr. Peyton Chichester and his classroom aides.

Photo caption: Peyton Chichester, CCPS lead Cisco networking instructor, demonstrates how a network closet/server room is set up. (Photo courtesy of Grishma Lavender.)

The after-school virtual teams facilitated sessions over Google Meet for MEGA Mentees from a variety of CCPS schools in the Middle and High school levels.

This virtual mentoring model was adopted during COVID and has been maintained as a way to include CCPS students who may not have an in-person MEGA program in their schools yet.

Over the course of the year, mentors covered middle and high school curriculum, celebrated holidays such as Black History and Women’s History Month, played brain teasers, and overall provided a safe and educational online mentoring space. Thank you to all our mentors in the virtual program.

The MEGA Mentors’ high school field trip took place March 28 to great excitement after a three year hiatus due to COVID.

Student mentees and mentor chaperones toured the campus of Old Dominion University, and then visited the Mariners’ Museum and Park. The mentees were able to experience the college student life at ODU by exploring campus with current students, and then enjoying lunch at the dining hall.

The students were treated to the Mariners’ Museum, where they learned from docent-led tours of the impact African-Americans had on the maritime world, specifically on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The mentees treasured the day off to travel to Norfolk and Newport News for this unique experience.

Special thanks to the mentors and chaperones who joined us on the trip: Mentors Eddie Camp, Toni Penn, Tonya Leeper, Andy Edlow, Harlan Walker, Arya Pazhwak, and Carol Woodley; and school coordinators Cecelia Greenwood and Quincy Waller.

The MEGA Mentors’ middle school field trip took place on Thursday, March 30 with visits to Richard Bland College and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Two full charter buses with students from six MEGA-affiliated middle schools started the trip at Richard Bland College of William and Mary in Petersburg. Students learned about academic programs and college financing in a Q&A seminar and campus tour. Then the participants headed over to downtown Richmond to visit the VMFA. Groups were separated off to take docent-led tours in the galleries of the internationally recognized art museum, which many students didn’t know was in their own backyard! Mentors and mentees alike enjoyed the educational experiences this trip imparted, while also celebrating the accomplishments of an entire school year of mentoring.

Special thanks to the chaperones who joined us on the trip: Mentors Deborah Hillman, Ernie Armstrong, Eric Armstrong, Delores Taylor, Eboni Brown, Mia Alexander, Reuben Turner, Patrice Turner, Larunetta Pollard, Madison Witer, Thomas Jones, Marilyn Scott, and Arya Pazhwak; and school coordinators Sandra Judge-Harden, Tonika Claiborne and Kelsi Wilkins.

The giddy laughs of MEGA Mentors’ Elementary Schoolers filled Uptown Alley April 22 as mentees and their families were invited together to celebrate the culmination of a successful year of the ES Reading Program. Bowling, arcade games, food, and fun company were all enjoyed by mentors, students, and families alike. Thank you to all who made our Elementary School programming a success.

MEGA Mentors has been fortunate to have experienced multiple signature moments since its inception in 2009. Retired NBA star Johnny Newman's March 14 visit to Manchester Middle School is one of those for the books.

Greg Hillman, one of MEGA Mentors' founding members and classroom mentor, said Johnny's straightforward, candid and engaging approach resonated with the students, school leaders and mentors in attendance. His conversation centered around several themes, including goal-setting, discipline, preparation and protecting your personal brand.

Johnny also talked about the importance of preparation and study and shared how the study skills he developed as a middle schooler aided him through high school, college, graduate school, the NBA and still today.

After sharing remarks on the importance of discipline, preparation and relationships, Johnny fielded questions from the audience. The questions ranged from "Did you play against Lebron?" to "Did you play against Michael?" Others wanted to know more about his current pursuits as a business leader and developer.

One of the attendees reminded Johnny that years ago, he signed a basketball for a red-haired kid who had just attended his first game NBA game between the Charlotte Hornets and the LA Lakers. That kid is David Altizer, who is all grown up and serves as principal Manchester Middle School's principal!

Toni Penn is a mentor at Meadowbrook High School and has been with MEGA working with high school students for over ten years. She started her first two years mentoring at Thomas Dale HS, and then moved to Meadowbrook where she has happily remained ever since.

"I love mentoring at Meadowbrook," said Toni. "I love being a part of something bigger than I am where I can share my personal experiences with hopes it will guide a mentee in the right direction."

Toni said the school has gotten a lot of negative publicity, and the students are aware and very vocal about it. "I love listening to their stories and being able to share my perspective and facilitate them through their feelings," she said. "It warms my heart when they share openly about what they have learned and how we can assist them with their future endeavors."

Toni is an associate manager in regulatory quality Compliance with Altria Client

Services, where she has spent the last 38 years. Toni attended Richmond Public

Schools, received her Bachelor of Science from Virginia Commonwealth University

and a Master of Business Administration from Strayer University. She is married to Tracy and is the mother of three young men; one is a recent graduate from Virginia Tech and another from Midlothian High School.

August 17: Annual Board Meeting

August 21 & 22: CCPS first day of school