Nation building, as is evident in recent culture, starts in the classroom. With the current dropout rate of 8 percent and suicide the second highest cause of death in teens, the process of nation building is not going well at the moment. The Department of Education released a letter in October reminding schools, colleges and universities about bullying and discriminatory harassment, and the implications of students’ actions.  Socio-cultural differences, factors outside school and academic expectations are too much for many of today’s school-going crowd to handle, but there are ways we can help the younger generation overcome these pressures.

An obvious solution is to start in elementary school and provide students with a mentor they can have face time with and rely on for support. As students who have just passed the K-12 phase themselves, members of our University community are well prepared to take up the roles of mentors.

The Students Advocating for Youth Village at Syme Hall provides that opportunity. The village consists of freshmen and sophomores who visit elementary and middle school students in the community, and mentor students on a one-on-one basis every week. According to Suzanne Berryhill, educational advisor for SAY, mentors address some of these issues, like bullying, coping with family issues and planning for the future. Freshmen visit the Fuller and Hunter Elementary Schools, while the sophomores go to Centennial Campus Middle School. This group of students helps raise awareness of the factors that affect the lives of children and strive to make improvements in the areas they can by getting involved with schools in our neighborhood.

CSLEPS also offers ways for other students to mentor children in the community and provide support for younger students. Opportunities come up over the course of the school year and are always available so N.C. State students can give back to the community. Statistically, majority of students here have been through similar experiences and can provide wisdom, friendship and support for any number of issues and pressures younger students are going through.

By being involved and aware of younger students and the pressures that affect them, we can strengthen the future of our nation and society and combat these problems for the long term. This requires us older students taking our time to pass on our knowledge and provide support for them. These simple acts can make a world of difference for a child, and that will make their and our future better.