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Someone to look up to
BHS mentors lead programming during school year, summer

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STARS mentor Brittany Younkman, right, gives a command to “touch your nose” as part of the “delayed reaction game” played by STARS members, from the left, Addie Brown, Ashley Taylor, Haley Beth Spires, Keary Murphy, Ali Godfrey, Stephen Scarborough and Nick Scarborough, at a recent club meeting at the Bellefontaine Middle School cafeteria. The game simulated the way alcohol adversely effects coordination and reaction time.

EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY HOCHSTEDLER

By Mandy Hochstedler
Examiner Staff Writer
05/03/08

Bellefontaine Middle School sixth-grader Haley Beth Spires is thankful for a local group of high school mentors that present a program at her school each week.

“They teach some good lessons,” she said following a recent after-school meeting of the grant-funded national program called Students Teaching Abstinence, Responsibility and Self-control.

“They’re like big sisters to you. Whenever you have a problem, they help fix it.”

STARS, as the program is called by its acronym, is a character development and asset-building club that is presented by a group of four Bellefontaine High School juniors, Sarah Ewing, Brittany Younkman, Brittany Myers and Lewey Graver.

In addition to mentoring at the middle school, they also conduct a program for middle school and high school students at Son Center Ministries in Lewistown on Thursday evenings. The four pupils said their goal is to show the younger students and also their peers how to abstain from at-risk behaviors, such as alcohol-, drug- and tobacco-use and sex before marriage.

“The things we teach the other students are values that I believe in myself,” said Brittany Myers, who received nods of agreement from the other three mentors.

“It’s cool to pass down what we’ve learned and what we already know,” Lewey said.

“We also try to teach about the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships, and how to resolve conflict between friends and family members,” Sarah said.

STARS mentor coordinator Dawn Wilbur said the weekly sessions at both BMS and Son Center Ministries usually revolve around a certain topic, such as media influences or peer pressure. One of the STARS mentors gives information about the day’s topic, and then leads discussion time and a related game.

“I think we’re giving them a head start on others their age,” Sarah said. “Before they enter high school, they know how to say ‘no’ to different peer pressures and maybe teach others about it, too.”

While the mentors work hard to give back to others on a weekly basis, they have noticed their own personal growth through the mentoring process as well.

“I used to be kind of shy and didn’t have lots of friends,” said Brittany Younkman, who started in the STARS program as a freshman. “But now my communication skills with everyone — parents, teachers and friends — have improved.

“I’ve learned the importance of respecting others and myself.”

STARS will also offer summer programming for any interested middle school or high school students in the county. Program fliers will be distributed to the schools, or individuals can e-mail dawnmwilbur@gmail.com for more information.