HIGH POINT – How many people visit with the president at the White House and march through Washington, D.C., to remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the same week?

Caleb Collins, a T.W. Andrews High School senior, experienced all of that this week as part of National Mentoring Month activities. With him was Michael Cook, an Andrews High teacher and coach and Collins’ mentor.

Collins had visited the nation’s capital before with a Pen or Pencil group.

“But I never thought I’d get inside the White House,” Collins said Friday. “I had wondered what it was like inside.”

The Obamas spoke about challenges they faced in their youth and their solid commitment to the benefits of mentoring in a child’s life.

“It was an overwhelming experience to hear his talk to us,” Collins said. “He had great words for what he had to say. Just the week before, I was thinking about what it meant to have a black president. It was so amazing.”

Addie Richburg, president of the National Alliance of Faith and Justice and founder of Pen or Pencil, offered the invitation to Collins and his mentor to be the guests of the Obamas on the one year anniversary of the Obama administration. Collins has been involved with the group since 10th grade and was instrumental in starting the MOVE (Men of Valor Excelling) chapter at Andrews.

The Pen or Pencil Initiative started in High Point in 2007 at Central High School by Communities in Schools High Point. Since then, hundreds of students from both Central and Andrews high schools have participated.

Collins credited his football coach with helping him follow a more disciplined path.

“He made me grow up,” Collins said, “and put me in a place where I had to make decisions. That had an impact on me. He told us we should be the best we can be.”

Collins participated in the March on Washington for Mentors and No Violence to mark the beginning of the 2010 Pen or Pencil SNCC (Student Nonviolence Coordinating Committee) 50th Anniversary Semester of Service.

Collins helped the group remember King’s historic “I Have A Dream,” speech. He read his poem “I Have A Dream Too.”

“I got to stand where Dr. King gave his speech,” Collins said.

dnivens@hpe.com | 888-3626

Mentoring

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At-risk youth: The Pen or Pencil Movement of the National Alliance of Faith and Justice (NAFJ) is a social action and educational movement designed to influence the lives of youth at greatest risk of academic failure in grades 5 and higher. “Pen” is short for penitentiary, while “Pencil” refers to education.

Curriculum: The program offers heightened awareness by cultivating resilience through a variety of exercises and approaches using eight of 10 thematic strands of the National Standards for the Social Studies.