The University of North Florida’s Department of Leadership, School Counseling and Sport Management along with the Taylor Leadership Institute will host the Collegiate Achievement Mentoring Program (CAMP) Osprey Leadership Mentoring Awards, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, at the Student Union, Building 58W, Ballroom, Room 3703.
The ceremony will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the CAMP program which has impacted more than 1,500 students and trained over 500 collegiate mentors. Drew Dudley, Ted Talks speaker, author and founder of Day One Leadership, will be the inspirational keynote speaker. Jonathan Catherman, best-selling author of “The Manual to Middle School” will also provide advice to students on achieving their full potential.
“This event serves to honor the work of the amazing leaders who have helped to create CAMP Osprey,” said Dr. Matthew Ohlson, program director and assistant professor of Leadership, School Counseling and Sport Management. “We want to model our mission of ‘leaders can change the world, one person at a time’ by allowing every participant the opportunity to enhance their own leadership skills and be a force for positive advancement in their schools and communities.”
The ceremony will honor three student mentors from the CAMP Osprey program, junior Nicholas Marchese, sophomore Casey Estes and senior Diandra Thompson. Three community leaders will also be recognized, including Tenikka Hughes, Emmy-nominated Action News journalist; Dr. Bruce Taylor, former UNF Board of Trustees chairperson and co-founder of the Taylor Leadership Institute; and Lt. General Rick Tryon, Taylor Leadership Institute director. Francesca Enea-Bruey and Jason Watkins, two former mentors who helped to get the initial program off the ground, will also be honored.
Marchese is a student-athlete who received the Jeffrey Dow Leadership Award for his commitment to service as a leadership mentor working with high-poverty students from Putnam County. Estes is a student-athlete who served as a mentor at Tiger Academy in Jacksonville’s Northside and exemplified service leadership by helping a group of high-needs girls increase confidence as well as leadership skills. Thompson is a communications major who created her own expanded mentoring model for female students within the culturally diverse River City Science Academy.
Hughes will be honored with the Community Engagement Award for her passion in promoting education and for making a positive impact on local youth. For their exceptional commitment to creating leaders at the University and in the community, Taylor will be honored with the Leadership Legacy Award, while Lt. Tryon will receive the Leadership Catalyst Award. Students and community partners from Flagler County schools, Putnam County schools and River City Science Academy will also be honored.
Admission is free with a children’s book donation to Tenikka’s Books for Kids drive to benefit the Jacksonville Public Library’s summer learning programs. Ticket and sponsorship packages are available on the CAMP Osprey website. Contact Ohlson for event questions at (904) 620-5271.
In 2008, the CAMP program began pairing collegiate students with high-needs children as CAMP Gator at the University of Florida. The hallmark of the program is effective leadership development that increases student achievement, confidence and leadership abilities.
The program moved to UNF as CAMP Osprey in 2015 and has expanded to nine schools in three states utilizing face-to-face and virtual mentoring. CAMP Osprey has been supported through generous grants from The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, Deerwood Rotary, the Cummer Foundation, Clay Electric and Florida Blue.
