Three fraternities at the Texas A&M University are offering mentoring sessions and scholarships to youths in need, and giving them the leg up they need to further their education.
It began when 99 Tutors, a tutoring service company, began tutoring at the College Hills Baptist Church in 2009, according to founder and president Detrick Eaton.
“There was a need that I saw in the local students to receive some sort of academic educational support,” said Eaton.
In the same year, Eaton reached out to the Sigma Chi Fraternity, who originally started the tutoring program at the church. In 2013, another fraternity, Chi Phi, joined in the tutoring program. Two years later, the SAE Fraternity was added into the collaboration.
The three fraternities provide tutoring two days a week in the fall and spring, for high school, elementary and middle school students.
“Not only do they work with them in a tutoring capacity, but also in a mentoring, big-brother program kind of thing,” Eaton said.
After many discussions regarding what the youths would do after high school, the fraternities got together to create a scholarship named the Sigma Chi, Chi Phi, SAE Scholarship. According to Eaton, the program was a great success and has only been growing since then.
“These young men devote their time out of a busy schedule to work with and mentor these young individuals,” Eaton said. “Not only do they provide tutoring, but they provide wisdom, guidance, education. They make a lasting impact on these individuals.”
According to Chi Phi president Dylan Dorough, the program began as a way for the fraternities to be involved in the community.
“The point of this scholarship is to encourage college attendance,” Dorough said. “We just want to motivate all the students to feel that they have the opportunity to go wherever they like to.”
This year a second scholarship was created and was named the Sigma Chi Belt Scholarship, and awarded to one student who will be attending the University of Houston in the fall. Sigma Chi president Grayson Humphrey said it was an amazing opportunity for the fraternities to give back to the community.
“Being able to see a kid get put in college with the assistance of our funds is just something very impactful,” Humphrey said.
In the future, Dorough said he hopes to expand on the number of scholarships they provide, as well as the amount within the scholarship.
“We want to increase the service not only within our fraternities, but expanding to other service organizations, sororities and clubs of that nature, and try to make the program as beneficial to us as it is for them,” Dorough said.
Humphrey said helping out the kids and knowing they are making a difference is the best part of the program.
“Just the fact that we’re changing one kid’s life is a big enough impact for me,” said Humphrey. “We don’t really want any glorification for this, we’re just trying to help out in every way possible.”