“Show me your friends and I will show you your future,” said Ron Hill of Suda Mixed Martial Arts Academy.
In other words, are your friends helping or hindering you?
When you’re a teen-ager, friends mean the world, sometimes even more than family. But William Little, 21, of Joliet said he learned a hard lesson that his family comes No. 1 in his life after his mother told him he could not return home until he had changed his attitude.
Hill and Little were two of five panelists at the “Bring Your ‘A’ Game 2” event at Joliet Job Corps on Aug. 20.
Four talent acts, a 22-minute video and a panel discussion targeted at urban youth made up this second event. The aim is for young people – and specifically young African American males — to learn what it takes to lead a successful life. Education, reading and hard work are all steps that can’t be avoided on this path. Panelists answered such questions as “how do you deal with anger,” “what was your life-changing moment” and “have you had a mentor?”
Little and Marcus Jackson, both Joliet Job Corps students, were chosen to tell how they decided to give up the street life of their youth to become responsible citizens.
Marcus Jackson, 23, grew up in the Robert Taylor homes in Chicago before his single mother moved him and two brothers to Harvey and then University Park. He was shot in the leg “doing things I shouldn’t have been doing” but went on to graduate from Crete Monee High School. His 19-year-old brother is in Stateville but will be sent to a downstate prison for a felony battery charge. “I straightened up for my daughter,” he said. She is 3 years old. He decided working minimum job wages at burger joints was not going to make it so he came to Joliet Job Corps in April. He’s earning his Certified Nursing Assistant credentials right now, and plans to go on to Pharmacy Technician trade and get certified. He is in dorm and SGA. Staff says he’s showing the right attitude and choices.
William Little, 21, of Joliet, lived in the area until age 11 when he moved to Savannah, Ga., with his parents, who then divorced. His father moved back to this area with his younger brother. William said he was put out of high school and then alternative school for fighting. His mother used tough love and locked him out when it looked like he wasn’t going to change. Like Marcus, he was also shot in the left leg when he was “running the streets.” He learned that family must come first over friends who will desert you. He started working on his GED and got work as a bus boy at a nursing home. He loved helping others and was promoted to a dietary aide and then worked in lawn care. His brother attends Aurora University. William came to Joliet Job Corps right before Christmas break and earned his GED in four months here. He is working on certifications in Facilities Maintenance where his instructor considers him a trade leader, is in dorm government and SGA.
Also on the panel were Stephen Evans, who was in prison for 12 years for armed robbery but has gone on to star in a musical act with his brother David Range called Ekklesia and work both selling cars and now in long-distance trucking. Ron and James Hill of Suda Mixed Martial Arts recalled growing up on Joliet’s southeast side and escaping the gangs and crime rampant in their neighborhood by devoting their time to studying martial arts. They have now coached internationally.
Jeremiah Boyd, a CPP Week 1 student, was one of the talent acts. He sang a capella a piece he had written.
For more on the national ‘A’ Game movement, see www.21cf.org/agame
Saturday’s event was sponsored by the Housing Authority of Joliet, Joliet Township High Schools, Joliet Job Corps and the Joliet Region Education Interfaith Council.