High school students who turned out recently for an orientation marking the annual start of the Police Department’s Achievers Program were treated to inspiring stories from officers about the importance of parental involvement and staying in school.
For the past few years, the Achievers Program — spearheaded by veteran officer Lisa Samuel — had been run out of Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School but has moved this school year to Ivanna Eudora Kean. The impact the program has had on the students was evident during the ceremony, when many said they moved over to Kean simply to continue their work with Samuel, who they said was "like a second mother" to them.
"Before I joined this group, I was always in trouble, causing mischief," said Kean High student Rodrique David. "Then one day, when I was at BCB, Officer Samuel brought me into her office, and I told her that I wanted to change my life. My parents were always telling me the things I was doing were wrong, but I thought they were just talking — being parents. But after talking to Officer Samuel, I realized the things they were saying were true, and if it weren’t for them and this program, I wouldn’t be here."
The program originally targeted at-risk students but is now open to anyone that’s interested, Samuel said. The program promotes student achievement and good behavior and seeks to expose students to new experiences through a variety of after-school, community service and fundraising activities. This year, the program will also feature an etiquette course to teach the students proper manners, attire and speech, Samuel said.
Throughout the orientation, which also brought out several Kean High parents, local officers shared their own school stories and tried to impart the importance of after-school programs that partner students with mentors who can teach them valuable life lessons.
"I dropped out of school in the seventh grade," Sgt. Barrington Thomas, head of the district’s School Security Unit, said. Thomas said he always knew he wanted to join the force and asked an officer what he would have to do to make his dream come true.
"He looked at me and said, ‘finish school,’" Thomas said. "And I did. I went back at age 16 and graduated when I was 20. I tell this story to the students to show that sometimes you have to break away from the pack to achieve your goals."
Deputy Police Chief Dwayne DeGraff recounted his recent tour in Iraq and told of one night when his camp came under enemy fire.
"My first thought was, okay, I’m not going to be going home," he said. "And I began to think what kind of legacy I would be leaving behind. And I knew the most important thing was being able to give back to my community, being able to be there for my children and being a part of programs like this that give students the opportunities they need to move forward."
DeGraff said he’s "seen a lot of death" during his 22 years in public service and is concerned about the increasing rise in violence among local youth. Community functions and even funeral services now require police presence, and the time has come to put in place more programs focused on taking the weapons out of children’s hands, he said.
The goal with every program is to put students from different parts of the island on a level playing field in the hopes that they will get along and abandon their neighborhood feuds, Thomas added later.
And with the Achievers, Samuel’s goal is to get every student in her program to graduate.
"I’m saying this tentatively, but I really want to guarantee you that your child is going to graduate," she told parents attending the orientation. "But, at the same time, that depends on them. They all have to do the work."
For more information on the Achievers or other police programs, call 775-2571.