Mentor Touches Young Lives

ROGERS — Ron Harris knows how seductive “the ways of the world” can be.

As a young person growing up in inner city St. Petersburg, Fla., he watched his older brother and sister travel along paths of drug dealing, prostitution and petty theft. Later, he blew a college football scholarship when the attention he received as a starring tight end and fullback caused him to neglect classes and fl unk out.

Yet the experience had a silver lining. Harris’s failure led him to a renewed commitment to God. He received a second chance when a football coach at Evangel University in Springfield, Mo., asked him to come play. Harris also performed with the university choir, sharing his story with audiencesaround the world.

In 1993, Harris and his wife, Monique, moved to Northwest Arkansas. Harris spent eight years working with Arkansas AthletesOutreach, a nonprofi t organization in Fayetteville. Five years ago, he started A Level Up, a nonprofi t organization based in Springdale.

His goal is to impact young peoplein a tangible way, he explained in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

“My dream is to see young people reach their potential in life. ... I’m trying to show them that being a productive citizen pays off .”

Harris shared his message with nearly 50 young people at a Saturday @ the Club Youth Rally at the Village on the Creeks Athletic Club in Rogers on Dec. 19. The rally wassponsored by Celebrate Family Church, an Assemblies of God church that meets at the athletic club.

‘A Level Up’

Harris’s vision for A Level Up includes a series of leadership programs to reach young people at all stages of development.

Leadership University is a summer internship program for college students, providing a “real world” learning lab to test vocational goals and develop life skills.

Summer Leadership Academy is a version of the same for students in grades six through 12. Camp Impact, a summer program for second to fifth graders, combines athletics, academics and arts.

Members of each age group have the opportunity to mentor students younger than themselves, Harris said. He knows from experience how one-on-one mentoring changes lives.

The Springdale resident has given motivational talks in churches, youth groups and school assemblies far and near, he said. An ordained minister with Christian Life Cathedral in Fayetteville, he delivers his message with passion and purpose.

Harris also runs an afterschool program at George Junior High in Springdale. The Above and Beyond Life Skills program reaches about 40 middle school and junior high students in the predominantly Hispanic neighborhood.

This is year two of a fiveyear pilot program. The idea is to follow the same students through high school - and eventually, college, Harris said.

“This is not about a workshop,” he said. “It’s about life on life. It’s about somebody taking an interest in your life, regardless of your background, and saying, ‘I care about you.’”

Mary Mann, a board member with A Level Up, said Harris’ caring is evident in his interactions with youth.

“He has such a connection with the kids,” she said. “He understands them. He understands the kids who are disadvantaged, who don’t have role models, who don’t have enough to eat.

“Ron lived that. He pulled himself up by his bootstraps. His message to kids is that they can pull themselves up, too.”