After
only four weeks in the delta working at the Sunflower County Freedom Project, I
am amazed to see the progress the students have made in such a short
time!
In
Ms. Goffe's and my writing class, I have seen slow but steady progress among all
of the students. Seeing a consistent effort from Ms. Clayton, Ms. Brown, Ms.
Williams and Mr. Thomas among others has added a lot to each class (and made
Ms. Goffe's and my job a little less stressful!). However, strong effort does
not always translate over to the list of silent lunches. Our silent lunch
experts, Mr. Apolonio and Mr. DeMarcus Gilespie, have shown an incredible turn
around in the past few weeks with their attitudes and efforts. It is great to
see Mr. Gilespie working silently during study session and Mr. Apolonio
stepping into the leadership position during morning and afternoon meetings. My
hope is that the effort continues through this last week, so that everyone can
make it through to Ole Miss.
Overall,
I have been quite happy with every student’s attitude and determination. Each
student has his or her own struggles to overcome, but I am hopeful that they
will all continue at the LEAD Center after the summer’s end. Our circle
discussion last week brought out the courage, compassion, and leadership in all
of us, and I hope this can be a testament to all (both students and fellows) of
the amazing community we have at the Sunflower County Freedom Project.
--Matthew Clayton
Duke University ‘12
SCFP Intern