Alphas recognize young leaders at awards banquet

ALBANY — Dressed in their Sunday best, the men of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. met at Mt. Zion Baptist Church Tuesday night to celebrate achievements of the young men they’re mentoring.

The middle school-aged youngsters had previously participated in the fraternity’s Project Alpha and Go To High School/Go To College programs, and Tuesday the fraternity culminated those events with an awards banquet.

After dinner, several of the young men showed off their oratory skills, reciting poems and speeches such as “Mother to Son” and “Our Deepest Fear.”

Jakobie Mitchell, an eighth-grader at Albany Middle School, admitted the Alpha program wasn’t his cup of tea at first, but it would change his life for the better.

“It wasn’t a physical change, it was a mental change,” Jakobie said. “(The program was about) Learning how to speak in front of big crowds, not being afraid to stand up, showing leadership in different positions and growing to be the young man I am today.”

As one of the senior members of the program now in his last year of eligibility, the eighth-grader said he hopes his peers continue to learn and grow into the leaders he knows they can be.

“I’m trying to help them accomplish leadership and not be afraid to stand out from the crowd,” he said. “Step up to the plate, and if something happens, don’t be afraid to speak out in front of crowds.”

Jakobie would present Alpha Phi Alpha members with tokens of appreciation, a gesture that nearly had Master of Ceremonies John Culbreath at a loss for words.

“I had to dab at my eyes a little bit because it is emotional,” Culbreath said. “Especially knowing that a young leader like (Jakobie) will not be around next year. He’s become a poster boy for what we’re trying to do, and I’m so proud of him. It’s hard to keep a straight voice talking about him because we are so proud of him and all of the other boys in both groups.”

The members of Alpha Phi Alpha presented several awards to the young men for their leadership, positive attitudes, improved attitudes as well as strong essays, which each boy was assigned at the end of the fraternity’s recent Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Retreat. Culbreath said Tuesday night proved if you set the bar high, the young men can and will rise to the occasion.

Project Alpha was a retreat at which teenage pregnancy prevention was discussed from a male’s perspective. Go To High School/Go To College sought to provide resources for the young men to have at their disposal as they pursue academic achievement.

Dr. William Berry said that this particular group of young men was a joy to work with.

“They were very attentive, they were very teachable, they were very giving, and they were very mannered,” he said. “We think that, looking at their essays, they really learned something, and hopefully we can keep doing this and re-enforce it.”

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