St. Louis, MO
The National Guide Right Centennial Celebration took place this month in St. Louis, Mo, the birthplace of the Guide Right Program. Guide Right was conceived in 1922 by the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and has become its signature youth development program that prepares young men for leadership.
Its reach extends to high schools and colleges and has provided more than 500,000 students the opportunity to be mentored by advisors, conduct community service, attend college tours, corral scholarships for college, and prepare for careers in trades or entrepreneurship. The impact and the success of this program have been beneficial to communities across the country and around the world.
The Guide Right program achieves six major objectives. These objectives are as follows:
- To create the next generation of leaders
- Prepare students for college
- Mentor students to college graduation
- To positively impact youth through mentoring and training
- To prepare youth for academic success in middle school, high school, and college
- To learn by interaction and doing
The Guide Right program currently has 8,022 students in various programs in 197 chapters worldwide, including Japan and the Dominican Republic. This program is a true testament that mentorship works for our youth and the stats tell a compelling story. Currently, 70.74% of Guide Right students graduate college within six years, and 96% of Guide Right students graduate high school.
“We are excited to celebrate this tremendous milestone for a program that has impacted more than 500,000 youth since its inception,” said Kevin Burnett, Chairman of the National Guide Right Program. “There is no other program – created specifically for youth and teens of color – that has the longevity and the reach that the Guide Right program has. We look forward to empowering youth for another 100 years.
The Centennial Celebration in St. Louis provided students the opportunity for a weeklong, in-person mentoring experience. Students participated in leadership development, community service, enrichment and STEM workshops, and recreational activities as part of the National Kappa League Conference. Kappa League is a subset program of the Guide Right program. Another notable aspect of the program is Kappa League TV, a national YouTube channel where youth participants of the Kappa League program produce news segments. It is the brainchild of National Kappa League spokesman, celebrated actor John Marshall Jones.
As the National Guide Right program embarks on 100 years, the focus is to continue to help young men enhance and achieve their goals and make constructive contributions to their community when leadership roles become the responsibility.
PIC: Courtesy
