All I have ever gotten out of Ramone Malone is a big grin and “Yes ma’am,” and “No ma’am.” That’s certainly not all bad. This is a young man with great manners who is a little on the shy side. So when one of Ramone’s mentors e-mailed me a quote from him recently I was amazed.
“College ain’t no joke. You have to do your own laundry, figure out where to get food, study, try to have a social life, but if you do have a social life you’re probably doing something wrong,” Ramone said.Ramone spoke prior to a college tour for the kids in the Felix Jones II, "Running Back to Make a Difference" Foundation ACT Prep program taught at North Mabee Boys and Girls Club. Carol Ainsworth, below right, an ACT tutor and program aide, invited kids from the program to meet at North Mabee and hear what two college sophomores had to say about college life. After the discussion, the kids toured Langston University. Later on this summer, they’ll tour Tulsa Community College and University of Tulsa. Ramone is a sophomore at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. An athlete himself, he is majoring in sports management. He also told the kids that they will miss their family and that the first year in college can be lonely.
Carol’s daughter Kai was the second speaker. She’s a sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis. She had challenges finding a roommate who would keep the dorm room clean and other typical woes her freshman year, such as a heavy course load. She is majoring in biology and wants to be a cardiologist. Both kids won “Youth of the Year” awards their senior years of high school. Since many of the kids who take the ACT exams don’t have parents or siblings who have been to college, it seems really important for them to get the scoop from kids who know the ropes. And, I hope it will serve as a motivator to be as cool as the North Mabee kids who are in college now.
-Sallie
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