{"id":9155,"date":"2022-02-03T09:00:44","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T14:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?p=9155"},"modified":"2022-02-03T09:00:46","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T14:00:46","slug":"collegiate-100-national-chapter-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/2022\/02\/03\/collegiate-100-national-chapter-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Collegiate 100 National Chapter of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Armstrong Campus Members Focus on Service and Mentorship<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Photos by Jonathan Chick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Anthony Peters started college as a dual enrollment student in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. But early into his college career at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Peters decided he needed a change of scenery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would have classes where there would be over 100 students,\u201d Peters said. \u201cNot only that but also because I was a dual enrollment student, I couldn’t get involved in extracurricular activities on campus. I came to the Armstrong Campus because I wanted that big school education on a smaller scale, and I wanted to start over and do my own thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing his own thing meant focusing on academics and getting involved in campus activities. The computer science major joined several organizations including Collegiate 100. It is an outreach program of the Savannah chapter of the nationwide organization, 100 Black Men of America, which is considered the leading African American-led mentoring organization. The Armstrong chapter was established in 2009 as an initiative for Black men on campus to support the mission of improving the quality of life within communities and enhancing educational and economic opportunities for all African Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince coming to the Armstrong Campus, I finally became my own person and I continue to grow every day,\u201d said Peters, who is the president of Collegiate 100. \u201cAcademically I\u2019ve been able to absorb more and see everything in the classroom through a different lens. Collegiate 100 has helped me the most and I enjoy being able to do so much with them and do great work around Savannah. It\u2019s all about mentoring and community service, so I get the chance to do that and more because of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, the group was named chapter of the year by the national organization. The Armstrong chapter was among two collegiate chapters nationwide to receive the honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is actually the second time that we’ve won chapter of the year,\u201d said Fernando Foster, the group\u2019s advisor, and a member of 100 Black Men of Savannah. \u201cBut this year was different,\u201d added Foster, director of Georgia Southern University Enterprise Networking and Telecommunications for IT Services. \u201cWe were named chapter of the year because of the amount of involvement and resiliency that the members had despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic. Collegiate 100 is different from other organizations because it’s not about being seen, it\u2019s not about the social aspect of things, even though that’s involved. The purpose of Collegiate 100 is the mission \u2013 the mission of community service and mentoring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foster emphasized that members are expected to maintain a culture of excellence in all that they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe mission of the Collegiate includes the phrase \u2018to be a beacon of light,\u2019 ” he said. \u201cThe motto for the 100 Black Men of America is \u2018what they see is what they’ll be.\u2019 Our belief is that our mentees gain more from our examples than our words. I expect that when the Collegiate are seen, they are seen doing the right thing, and doing it in the spirit of excellence. This expectation not only includes mentoring in the traditional sense, but it also includes mentoring our mentees and our peers through the example that we set.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter members are involved in service projects on- and off-campus. Their goal is to make a positive impact on youth in Savannah and to connect with students on the Armstrong Campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll activities of Collegiate 100 are coordinated in compliance with the objectives of the sponsoring chapter as they relate to existing relationships with local schools and other entities that provide services to youth,\u201d Peters explained. \u201cWe do this through different forms of community service such as volunteering for schools, book drives, mentoring youth in classrooms and outside the classroom, and getting involved with the 100 Black Men on various programs such as their Youth Leadership Academy. Of course, we will host fun events on campus such as our cookout, ball, pageant and everything in between.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For funding, Collegiate 100 relies on the support of 100 Black Men of Savannah and annual events like the winter ball and annual pageant. Traditionally, the ball and pageant are face-to-face events, but the pandemic made it harder to stage them this past year. However, after successfully mentoring Savannah youth via Zoom, the campus-based group held virtual events and requested donations through them. The winter ball, a black-tie affair usually held in February, highlights the group and supporting organizations while having fun. Anyone on campus who buys a ticket is welcome to attend. The pageant is a scholarship competition that starts in January, but the actual competition day is in April. There are five categories for each young woman to display their personality and talents for a chance to win a scholarship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Collegiate 100 was chartered on the Armstrong Campus it was conceived as an organization for men. Women could join but they had to be inducted through the annual pageant and after serving a year on the court. Aleea Young, a junior from Sylvania, Georgia, is the current Miss Collegiate 100, and the by-laws recently changed so that women can join the same way that men do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs of 2021, this organization has deemed itself co-ed,\u201d Young said. \u201cAlthough I entered this organization via the pageant, I appreciate the executive board offering general membership to females, as there is a mission behind the Collegiate 100 that should not be limited to all males and three members of a pageant court.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young, a psychology major, has a passion for the group and for the Armstrong Campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing involved has helped me with my professional skills, gain social connections, obtain financial literacy information and even prioritize my mental health,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are so many opportunities on campus to learn more about yourself and about people. I thank Armstrong as I am halfway through my Georgia Southern collegiate career. I feel so accomplished already and would not have been able to do this at any other campus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peters, also a junior, said joining the organization has exceeded his expectations and he encouraged other students to connect with Collegiate 100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBe leaders,\u201d he said. \u201cBe somebody that brings a positive change to other people’s lives. If you can help a child or anybody in some capacity to do something great or positive with their life, it’s not only rewarding for them, but it’s also rewarding for you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jason Nolton Jr., a mechanical engineering major from Atlanta, is the group\u2019s parliamentarian. He said Georgia Southern and Collegiate 100 have given him a place to grow and develop into the leader he believes he was born to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always want to get involved in an organization that truly does its best in achieving and empowering everyone to pursue their goals while making the community a better place to be,\u201d Nolton said. \u201cI feel that Collegiate 100 really does that and it is meant for me.\u201d \u2014 Sandra Bennett<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jason Nolton Jr.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Aleea Young<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Anthony Peters<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Armstrong Campus Members Focus on Service and Mentorship Anthony Peters started college as a dual enrollment student in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. But early into his college career at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Peters decided he needed a change of scenery. \u201cI would have classes where there would be over 100 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":9156,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[67],"class_list":["post-9155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-winter-2022"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}