AHS senior Brandon Fenn addresses Dougherty Kiwanis Club

ALBANY — Gayla Bently, the assistant director of the Dougherty County School District’s Exceptional Students program, says Brandon Fenn is “a young man who’s really going places.”

Her assessment is borne out by his list of achievements. Brandon, currently a senior at Albany High School, is dual-enrolled at Darton State College, was offered numerous scholarships, and is weighing his many options. He has held many leadership positions at both the school and district levels, including chair of the Leadership Team at AHS, and is a member of the local school system’s Advisory Council to the Superintendent.

Brandon was recently recommended to serve on the Georgia Department of Education Advisory Council and the State Superintendent’s Advisory Council, which will work to improve public education across the state. Most recently, he was inducted into the National Honor Society at Darton and named to the college’s Merit List for high academic achievement.

On Monday, Brandon spoke to the Kiwanis Club of Dougherty County about his involvement in a districtwide initiative called Students Helping Students. It’s a role that has allowed him to interact with many people, he said.

“One of the most valuable interactions that I think is so important is with peers, students,” the Albany High senior said. “I’ve been to probably every school in this district. I’ve met so many students and had the opportunity to hear so many great stories, so many powerful stories.”

Oftentimes, he said, “I find myself at the Regional Achievement Center, which is informally known as our alternative school. That’s for students who have disciplinary issues, who need some assistance, who need an alternative route to access and education. I ask them what we can do to make their education experience better in our system.”

Brandon grew up in what he describes as “the projects,” an apartment complex on Newton Road across from Monroe High School, and he said that enables him to relate to the background from which many district students come.

“Oftentimes I get a better response from students because I simply can relate. That’s the first key to how students can help students across our system,” he said.

Another essential aspect is exposure, he believes. Many times, Brandon said, “Because students are poor, the only way they see outside of Albany is through the school system programs.”

He cited a recent school trip he and other students took to Washington, D.C., during which they met with Congressman Sanford Bishop and toured the Capitol and Howard University. At Howard, the group met an alumnus who told them of the family and street background he had come from, and “that interaction was so profound to me.”

“I was able to see someone who came up in an environment just like we do every day be so successful,” Brandon said. “That’s the second thing, exposure.”

Thirdly, he said, are positive influence and mentorship.

“Influence is one of the most powerful weapons that exist because everything is shaped by what the majority does,” Brandon said. “Young people will follow the majority, and we’re impacted by our peers.”

Brandon said he asks students: Who are your friends? What do they do every day? What do they do when they leave school? What do they do on the weekend?

“If they are not doing anything positive when you all are together, you’re not helping each other grow, (then) change your friends,” he said. “Positive influences, relatedness and exposure are three top things that I think are how our students can help (other) students throughout our system every day.”