Newspaper Page Text
Page 4B
August 10, 2022
^Reporter
Monroe County Library serves 385 youth in 2022
Summer Reading Program
Children volunteer to learn a few dance steps at the Summer Reading Program Kick off on May 3 1.
Monroe County Library's 2022
Summer Reading Program in
cluded 26 events attended by over
500 people, according to branch
manager Kimberly Clayton. The
events included special programs
with Indonesian dancers, a
magician, a clown, a storyteller, a
reptile handler and more, as well
as movies, games, and a weekly
story time with crafts and visits
from a therapy dog.
There were programs for tod
dlers through elementary school,
teens and even adults. Clayton
managed the eight weeks of
programs with the position of
Children's Program Specialist
vacant at the library.
The Summer Reading Program
signed up 374 juvenile readers to
keep track of their reading over
the eight week summer break and
earn prizes for their efforts. They
signed up 11 teens and seven
adults.
"The goal was to register 300
people," said Clayton. "We are ex
cited to have reached and passed
our goal for this year's program
We have received amazing feed
back and positive comments
from parents about how enjoy
able this year has been."
Listed alphabetically are readers
ages 0-11. Starred readers (*) read
more than 50 hours, and double
starred readers (**) read for more
than 60 hours.
Kiki Achibin, Kiki Adjabeng,
Harley Alexander, Hailey Alex
ander, Brooks Allen, Bailey Allen,
Andy Anderson, Nova Anderson,
Mary Bowen Austin**, Link
Bales, Dorian Barkley, Anderson
Barrett**,
Amelia
Barrett*,
Walter Bates,
Taliah Battle,
Abigail Bea
sley, Phoebe
Beasley,
Lorelei Bea
sley, Joseph-
Anthony
Bell, Joiana
Bell, Maddie
Biek, Nevaeh
Bilderback**,
Ace Bird
song, Colin
Boland, Ca
leb Boland,
Lucas Bow
ers*, Avery
Bowers*,
Bramley Branan*,
Alaina Brennan, Ansley Bren
nan, Aceson Brooks, Conner
Brooks, Aubrey Brown, Madi
son Brown, Noah Bukannan,
Connor Burch, Julien Burgand,
Ryder Busbee, Braxton Busbee,
Marleigh Busbee, Brandy Busbee,
Gabrielle Cacciapalle, Giada
Cacciapalle, Georgia Cacciapalle,
Kinley Cauley, Campbell Causey,
Londyn Chaney, Connor Cheek,
Kendall Cheek, Evaleen Christy*,
Becca Coady, Bailey Coady,
Bella Coady, Zahavah Colbert,
Aubree Coleman, Aria Cole
man, Milo Collier, Olivia Collier,
Collins Cone, Liam Conkle, Cole
Crittenden, Spencer Daniely III,
Brycen Dardy, Aiden Davis, Averi
Davis, Akennedi Davis, Caleb
Davis, Barrett Davis, Xavier
Davis, Everett Davis, Nolan Dent,
Tyson Dent, Eli Dewberry, Addy
Dewberry, Kayleigh Diehl*,
Ja’Ryain Dumas*, Adeline Du
pree*, Coleman Dupree*, Weston
Dupree*, Sadie Dupree*, Lydia
Dupree*, Gavin Edge, Mandy
Etheridge, Kaliyah Evans*, Elijah
Evans, Sophia Evans, Sara Evans,
Scarlet Evans, Wren Farmer,
Henley Farmer, Madilynn Fish-
back , Riley Fleckenstein, Olivia
Fleckenstein, Emerson Fletcher,
Willow Fletcher, Patrick Fox,
Asa Garner*, Ann Garner *,
Hunter Gifford, Kylie Goad,
Kade Goad, Benjamin Governale,
Kate Governali, Bryson Grier,
Levi Grizzard, Brady Grizzard,
Liam Haddock, Benson Had
dock, Robert Hall, James Hall,
Jackson Hamlin, Emmalyn Ham
lin, Lillian Haney,
Samantha Hansford, Gabriel
Hansford Carter Harris* Avery
Harris*, Reid Harris*, Ol
ivia Harris, Ivey Harris, Je’Liyah
Harris, Merci Harrison, Zane
Harrison, Tobias Harrison, Skylar
Harvey, Tyler Harvey, Jordan
Harvey, Maliyah Harvey, Scarlett
Henderson, Cullen Herndon,
Austin Hirsch*,
Carter Hirsch, Mo’Rickus
Holder, Joshua Hooks, Hannah
Hooks, Maison Huchel, Emma
Hunnicutt, Drew Hunnicutt,
Kyrsten Ingle, Jerm Ingram,
Reese Jackson,
Elijah Jenkins,
Makayla
Johnson,
Luke Johnson,
Aubrey John
son*, Kyleigh
Johnson,
Austin John
son , Grace
Johnson*,
Jolie Jones, Lula
Jones, Sullivan
Jones, Rowan
Jones, Grady
Keen, Adam
Keenan, Caleb
Keenan,
Avah’Leona
King, Skylar
King, Rich-
mund Koch,
Kade Lancaster, Ava Jane Lauber,
Lily Leasure, Emily Leasure, Mike
Maddox, Darryl Mallory, Alysson
Mangham, Korbin Martin, Lizzie
Martin, Charlie Martin, Aiden
Martin, Kaylie Martin, Taylor
Mayfield, Lila Mcclure, Colton
Mcclure,
Audra McLaughlin, Beckett
McLaughlin, Bella Mcmurray,
Denorris Miller, Mia Moody,
Saroyan Morgan, Liam Music,
Skylar Music, Eli Neill, Emory
Neill, Emmeline Newman, Luke
Newman, Grove Newman,
Ansley Nowell, Addison Nowell,
Emaleigh Nutt*, Joshua Nutt*,
Layh’lian Ogletree Bryant, Noah
Parsons*
, Makenzie Pate*, Madison Pate,
Catie Phillips, Addilyn Pippin,
Bricen Ponce, Lindsey Ponce,
Elli’Yachtaka Ponder, Taej’Zon
Ponder*, A’Zion Ponder, Lily
Raffield, Weston Raffield, Landon
Ratliff, Alicia Ratliff,
Josiah Reynolds, Lucy Reyn
olds, Elianna Reynolds, Wilson
Ridley, Betty Ridley*, Hamil
ton Ridley*, Ivey Riggins, Jace
Roberts, Emmie Robinson*,
Isaiah Robinson, Isaac Robinson,
Tommy Rowe, Grayson Rowe,
Dallas Rozier, Emily Sandlin*, Al
exander Saralegui, Mason Sawley,
Jameson Sawley, Isabella Schultz,
Audrey Scott, Duncan Scott,
Emily Shanks, Hannah
Shanks*, Felicity Shedd, Serenity
Simmons, Abbie Singletary, Evan
Speir*, Lillie Speir*, Bo Speir,
Maggie Speir, Ava Springer,
Coleman Staples, Paisley Sta-
tham, Bear Stephens, William
Stevens, Annora Stewart,
Summer Stickler, Ashlynn
Swaney, Khloe Tench, Alexandra
Thomas, Reese Thomas, Ryker
Thomas, Luke Trammell, Carter
Tyson, Avery Vinson, Emery
Waddleton,
Rachel Waldman, Esther
Waldman,Jacob Waldman,
Aspen Walker, Raven Warren,
Adalyn Weathers, Kayli Whatley,
Katalina White, Kaspian White,
Dion White, Dion White, Ariana
White, Jesse White,
Toni Wiggins, Carleigh Wig
gins, Landon Wiggins, Legend
Wiggins, Jasper Wiles, Mattie
Williams, Khioni Williams, Aus-
tyn Willis, Charlie Willis, Austin
Windham, Caitlyn Windham,
Madison Windham, Josiah Win
ters, Khyree Wise, Kari Wright,
Serenity Wyatt, Ricco Ziccarelli,
Antonio Ziccarelli and Dominic
Ziccarelli **.
Participants in the 2022 Mon
roe County Library's Teen Sum
mer Reading Program included:
Rebekah Jenkins, Joshua Jen
kins, Westin Robinson, London
Ratliff, Molly Gifford, Alecia Gif
ford, Ella Martin, Emma Martin,
Thiago Saralegui Aquino, Molly
Fox and Jenny Fox
Children watch LewE the Clown at the Summer Reading Program on June
27. (Photo/Diane Glidewell)
Mitchell
Continued from Page 1B
ting his phone, which contained
his speech for the program, and
about how happy he was to listen
to the babble of his two-year-old
son reading to him.
Mitchell talked about how in
awe he was of receiving a text
from Gov. Brian Kemp wishing
him a happy 29th birthday on
July 20, that the very busy gover
nor of Georgia had taken time to
reach out to him. Then he noted
that it was also important to him
that he heard from his mother
and other friends and family and
that his fiancee, Jasmine, had
blown up 29 balloons and written
29 reasons why he is important
to her.
Mitchell said he grew up poor
and grew up where there wasn’t
any value on academics. The
way out of poverty was crime
or sports, and he picked sports,
mostly. He told some poignant
stories about being hungry and
about being on the wrong side of
the law in elementary and middle
school.
When he began to get calls
from college coaches about
playing football, he thought it
sounded great to keep playing
football (It made his mother
happy), but he had no idea what a
GPA, an SAT or an ACT were or
what they had to do with actu
ally going to college. He thanked
a high school history teacher for
sitting him down, making him
understand and helping him
work for the minimum 2.5 GPA
he had to have to get into college
even on a football scholarship.
Once at UGA he found himself
in a world where reading mat
tered, and he began to under
stand the power it carried, but it
didn’t come easy for him, and he
didn’t know where to begin. An
injury sidelined him for a season,
and he found himself with time
to learn to read.
Mitchell told of a motivating
incident when a student in his
English class began to scream at
a professor because she got an 89
on a paper. Michell asked why she
cared so much; he was perfectly
happy with a 73. He came across
rapper Jay Z on you-tube explain
ing how reading books taught his
brain to hold on to information;
Jay Z is known for memorizing
all of his lyrics. Then Mitchell saw
the rapper/actor 50 Cent on you
tube with author Robert Greene
talking about giving children the
tools to succeed through reading.
“I learned everybody’s reading,”
said Mitchell. He said he wanted
to think, “I don’t need to read. I
can catch, jump and run,” but he
knew that isn’t true. His mother
told him there’s a difference
between being the best football
player you can be and being the
best person you can be, and the
latter lasts longer.
Mitchell found out that to
become a reader, he couldn’t start
with Robert Greene’s books, he
had to start with “Pete the Cat”
and “The Hungry Caterpillar”
and build a foundation. But he
did it. Another step also came
through advice from his mother.
She told him if you want to
become something, surround
yourself with others with the
same goals. It worked in mak
ing Mitchell a better athlete; so
to become a reader, he looked to
surround himself with readers.
Looking for a book club, he
asked a woman he saw in Barnes
& Noble if he might join her book
club. Long story short, Mitchell
began weekly meetings with a
book club of women with whom
he had nothing in common ex
cept a love of reading. They were
decades apart in age and far apart
in culture and experience, not to
mention race and gender. The
relationship was what Mitchell
needed to foster his growth as
a reader, and he hoped he gave
something back to the members
of the book club, too, which he
faithfully attended for his last two
years of college.
Mitchell is now giving back to
young people through the Share
the Magic Foundation he formed
in 2016, which so far has touched
421,201 students, some in every
state.
“Reading widens the lens. It set
me free,” said Mitchell. “It gave
me ability and confidence in
myself’
He said that growing up, he
didn’t care about making As or
even passing classes, but he did
care about making a better life for
himself and his family. He knows
that is the incentive, the con
nection to make disadvantaged
youth care about reading.
“I know your job is difficult.
Your sacrifice is God-like behav
ior,” Mitchell said to the teachers.
“You’re the real heroes. For some,
you’re the only bridge to another
life. Let’s keep going, uplifting the
community one kid at a time.”
At the community program
that evening, Mitchell said that at
University of Georgia he realized
that he needed to give his brain
as much attention as his body;
he realized that the brain can
provide financial stability and op
portunities whereas the body can
only go so far and can’t sustain
you like the brain can.
“The NFL was a great oppor
tunity, but it didn’t save me,” said
Mitchell.
He said he was All SEC Fresh
man of the Year his first year at
UGA. He said he was fearless on
the field but fearful in the class
room. Mitchell said he was lucky
God gave him gifts that made it
possible for him to go to college
on an athletic scholarship where
he just needed the minimum 2.5
GPA and 800 combined score on
the SAT to be admitted.
“Football—I love every bit of it,
from photos to accolades, but it
doesn’t sustain,” said Mitchell.
He said he wants children to
understand that materialistic pos
sessions are only something to
hide behind from the things they
are afraid of.
“Nobody cares what you wear
in the real world,” said Mitchell.
“They do care how much you can
add to the conversation intellec
tually’
He said one time he asked New
England Patriots’ owner Robert
Kraft if he owned Kraft cheese,
thinking he had made the money
through that business to buy
the Patriot franchise. Kraft told
him that no, his family had been
successful manufacturing a paper
component in razors. Mitchell
realized that there were business
opportunities he had no idea
existed.
“Reading gave me hope and
inspiration,” he said. “You’re not
shut off from anything if you can
read.”
He had another epiphany when
he saw Justin Houston in his
theater class at UGA. Houston
had just signed a $100 million
NFL contract but he was at UGA
in the off season finishing his
degree. Mitchell said Houston
understood that the value of
education surpasses the value
of money. He said Todd Gurley
also came back to finish his UGA
degree after signing a $50 million
NFL contract.
“Knowledge is real power,” said
Mitchell. “Money is artificial
power.”
In response to a question,
Mitchell said that after he began
talking about his struggles with
reading, many of his UGA and
NFL teammates confessed the
same feelings. He said the higher
you go in a sport, the more intel
lectual ability matters because at
the higher levels all of the athletes
are gifted. Being able to use criti
cal thinking and analytical skills
divides the successful from the
unsuccessful among great ath
letes. He said NFL athletes spend
more time studying playbooks
and information on the other
team than they do practicing on
the field.
Asked to comment on some of
his fellow players, Mitchell said
Tom Brady is one of the most
competitive men he has ever met
but is also very generous. He said
Bill Belichick is one of the great
est leaders he has known. Mitch
ell said Belichick puts everything
on you, which makes you better.
Mitchell said one of the greatest
lessons he learned from read
ing is financial management. He
learned that spending everything
you have on hand leaves you
without the choice of whether to
spend or not, and it’s much more
powerful to have the choice. He
recommended “The Millionaire
Next Door” to help reach that
understanding. He said he has
driven his 2008 Dodge Charger
since his sophomore year in col
lege and finds that is a powerful
choice.