Lynol Gauff’s eyes told the story when speaking about seeing students he’s mentored reaching their potential.
This means the world to him.
“Seeing them develop that confidence and exude that confidence, it’s like seeing a caterpillar transform into a butterfly,” Gauff said. “For me, I’m there to just ask the right questions, make them comfortable and let their brilliance emerge.”
Gauff is among the mentors working with students participating in the Dow Leadership Academy, a leadership, STEM career exploration, soft skills training, college preparedness, and mentoring program. It emphasizes the importance of academic success, community involvement, and workplace readiness while aiming to provide young adults with the support and tools needed to achieve at the highest level. It is a three-year commitment for each student.
Students are exposed to high demand careers in industries such as chemical manufacturing, construction, banking and finance, engineering, robotics, and healthcare to name a few.
Dow and the St. Charles Parish public school district partner for the program, which is managed by T. Simmons and Co., an organization specializing in coaching and development.
Last week, 27 Hahnville High School students were honored with their own red trailblazer jackets presented to them at a special ceremony at the Edward Dufresne Community Center.
For Gauff, seeing the students put on those jackets was especially satisfying. He noted he became involved with the program as a mentor to see if he could make a difference in someone’s life.
“It’s been a pretty cool experience so far,” Gauff said.
Hahnville student Wynston Rownd said he joined the program because he felt he’d like to improve on his skillset when it comes to working with a team.
“I’ve always liked working solo, and I really needed to work in a team setting to grow those skills,” Rownd said. “I feel like I’ve learned alot. We talk about certain things like money and morals, and that’s something I really like getting into. It’s a lot of different things you learn throughout.”
To those points, mentors guided discussions about real life dilemmas and scenarios one might face in the working world, such as making decisions as to who should be hired – or fired – when in leadership positions.
Fellow HHS Tiger Viki Hu said these exercises gave her and the other students in the academy a chance to put themselves in the shoes of others.
“It made you think more of other people’s perspectives,” said Hu. “You think about other people’s lives, not just your own, and how things can affect those lives, how people are all going through something different.”
Another element of the course focused on marketing – students would take a product, determine the value of the product and come up with the best way to make it appealing for the public.
Other skills covered included networking, presenting yourself effectively and professionally and financial literacy.
The program expanded to Hahnville after successful launches elsewhere, including at White Castle High School. The mentors include Dow employees from varied backgrounds and who have diverse jobs that include chemical engineers, research and development, finance, production and maintenance.
Terry Simmons, founder of T. Simmons and Co., said when the program first began in 2017, just 15 students were involved. This year, there were 308 applicants, and 157 students were interviewed to fill 83 slots.
“It’s really blown up over the past seven to eight years,” said Simmons. “Tonight, we get to see these students exemplify everything we’ve talked about for the past several months. It’s about the development of these young people over three years.”
