Young Men Find Focus With Help Of Fraternity Alumni

Like the mentors of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Tampa chapter president Jonovan Stafford, left, acts as a role model to his peers.

By HAYA RADWAN / USF

By JUNIE ESCARMENTand HAYA RADWAN The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 16, 2007

TAMPA - Before joining the Sigma Beta Club, Jonovan Stafford made good grades at Hillsborough High School and stayed out of trouble.

But he also shied away from school activities.

"I would just go home after school and home on the weekends and not go anywhere, not do anything," he said.

He credits his more than 2-year membership in the Sigma Beta Club for changing that. He's a senior and the group's president, a member of the track and step teams, and participates in the Upward Bound program.

Sigma Beta Club is a youth auxiliary group established in 1950 by members of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity and run by alumni. There are now more than 100 chapters nationwide, including the Tampa chapter, with 16 students from Hillsborough County high schools.

The club is recruiting more members over the summer and planning its May 27 scholarship banquet in Tampa.

The alumni coordinate community service events and encourage club members to participate in educational and social networking. In Sigmas Against Teen Pregnancy, members recruit and train high school students to teach their peers sex education outside of school. They discuss abstinence, safer sex and repercussions for teens who become fathers.

"We're actually working with high school and middle school kids that are looking for professional men as mentors," said Philip Harris, Tampa chapter director. "The mentoring provided by the alumni chapter for our Sigma Beta Club has impacted young men like Jonovan in ways that parents and schools usually do not."

Members Visit Schools

Stafford's long-distance relationship with his father means few visits. He said he finds comfort through his fraternity mentors.

"Since joining the Sigma Beta Club, I've been around males who are trying their best to be a role model," he said.

Ventoura Watkins, a senior at Wharton High School and a member of the Sigma Beta Club, said the organization had a positive effect on his social life.

"It made me a more mature person," he said. "If I had a situation or problem with somebody, I would argue about it, but now I'm humble."

Watkins said being around the mentors helped him become more responsible and keep commitments. His weighted grade-point average is 4.86, and he signed with Florida State University on May 1 to play football.

"I'm thinking about engineering, entrepreneur or acting, because I'm gorgeous," he said.

Harris said the Sigma Beta Club is different from other mentoring groups because a historically black fraternity founded it. The organization encourages students to go to college and awards scholarships at an annual banquet. The group hopes to award $30,000 in scholarships this year.

Alumni also take Sigma Beta Club participants on campus visits.

More College Preparation

Most first-year college students experience struggles in their academic and social lives, said Keri Riegler, assistant dean of students at the University of South Florida. Mentoring can help.

"Some students arrive on campus better equipped to handle the changes that this new experience entails," Riegler said. "In order for students to be successful, they need to seek out support of networks and learn to adapt to their new environment."

The Sigma Beta Club actively recruits members across the Bay area year-round. According to Harris, anyone can join, but it is up to the members to determine their success in the organization.

"What you put into it is what you get out of it," Harris said.

HOW TO JOIN

Call Sigma Beta Club director Philip Harris at (727) 255-1360 or e-mail Nebula_00_2000@ yahoo.com.

ABOUT THIS REPORT

This report is part of a multimedia project produced by a University of South Florida journalism class in cooperation with The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. The students work for a semester with professionals from all three media.

Reporters Belise Borroto, Chelsea Lawson and Ricky Parks contributed to this report.