Roosevelt grad mentors students #theNEISDway
“The experiences that I gained in NEISD, I’ve carried that on for many, many years and it gave me an advantage out in the world,” said Dr. Ron Kelley, Roosevelt graduate and student mentor.
Once a month, Dr. Ron Kelley mentors students at the schools he grew up attending – Montgomery Elementary School, Ed White Middle School and Roosevelt High School. He graduated from Roosevelt in 1991 and went on to become a teacher and principal before founding the National Mentoring Foundation last year.
Kelley embraced a leadership role early on in life. He attributes much of that to the positive role models he had growing up. Today, he strives to be that positive force for young African American male students at the schools he once attended.
“Mentoring is so important because it’s the blueprint for success,” said Kelley. “A lot of times we see successful people and we wonder, ‘How did they do it?’ They don’t give the steps. You just see the end and you see that this person’s a billionaire or a CEO or they invented a product. They don’t give that path. Mentoring allows me to sit down one-on-one with that group of students and give them the path.”
Dr. Sean Maika, NEISD Superintendent of Schools, joined Kelley and a group of Roosevelt students to discuss what makes a good leader during their March meeting. Kelley still remembers his days at Roosevelt fondly and he hopes to instill the qualities and determination he learned there in the next generation of Roosevelt grads.
“Here at Roosevelt, we were encouraged to get involved in things. As a whole, the District was really booming in the early 90s and it was such a great place to be. I think that prepared me for the world and prepared me to lead.”
