COVINGTON, Ga. — Two longtime Covington residents hope they are helping some middle-schoolers navigate the sometimes rough waters of early adulthood by way of a legacy left by the late Judge Horace Johnson Jr.

Undrey Bostic and Catrice Perkins are among the adults participating in the 15-year-old nonprofit Newton Mentoring Program Inc.

Ruth Banks leads the program which Johnson established in 2008 to provide individual support for public school students in grades kindergarten through 12. Johnson died in 2020.

The program recruits and provides training for adults who come from all walks of life, such as retired educators, representatives of the business community and college students, to serve as mentors, Banks said.  

"Mentors take on the responsibility for, and commit to having a positive impact on the critical development needs of Newton County school-aged children,” she said.  

Bostic has mentored two students, Khalil Barnes and Jordan Palacious, since fall 2021. Both are 13 and students at Clemons Middle School and the Newton County Theme School.

He is one of the few male mentors in the program and said he wanted to participate in part because he had a mentor that provided spiritual guidance to him in his 20s.

"Almost everyone can use a genuine mentor," Bostic said..

Bostic, 45, oversees all food service operations for the UGA Extension Service's Rock Eagle 4-H Center in Eatonton.

The Conyers resident formerly lived in Covington for nine years. He served in the Army for 21 years, including a stint in Iraq, before retiring and working in food service at Georgia State University and Oxford College.

A Jenkins County native, Bostic earned a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice and Public Safety Leadership from Mercer University, and a master's degree in Leadership from Luther Rice College.

He is now working on a doctorate in addition to his fulltime job, but said he has "found the time" to mentor the students three times a month at their schools — giving them advice on school and life in general.

"I believe every young person needs a mentor," Bostic said.

He also has developed a relationship with their parents which allows him to take his mentees to see the occasional University of Georgia basketball game and other activities.

Such a relationship gives each 13-year-old a much-needed "outlet" outside of home and school — and provides them what Bostic described as "wisdom outside the home."

"I know, from my experience, a lot of times you need another outlet," he said.

But, he added he is not merely "a friend" to the boys because "you have to be the adult."

"Basically, you're a role model," Bostic said.

Perkins works as a corporate underwriter for State Farm Insurance Co. She has volunteered with the program since 2021 and is a mentor to two Veterans Memorial Middle School students. 

The Covington native and Newton High School graduate earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Miles College in Alabama. 

Like Bostic, Perkins also had a mentor — the late Newton County school and community band director T.K. Adams.

The Covington native grew up in a house near Cousins Middle School and first met Adams in the early 1990s. She began assisting him in sixth grade and he eventually wrote a letter of recommendation for Perkins to enter Miles College near Birmingham, Alabama, she said.

Perkins said she first heard about the mentoring program from fellow members of Bethel Grove Baptist Church, where she is a longtime, active member. Service is "second nature" to her, she said.

"It was just a great way to honor (Adams)," she said of the mentoring program.

Perkins serves as a mentor to Veterans Memorial Middle School seventh-grader Alani Spearman. She also has been assigned a second student at Veterans Memorial she only met once and is not that familiar with, she said. 

She said she spends about 15 minutes with each one weekly at the school and also checks in with them regularly.

"I don't try to overwhelm them," Perkins said.

Perkins said she typically will discuss any number of issues with her mentees — from academics to time management and "what social issues they're having at school."

"It's their time," Perkins said.

She said she has seen her one longtime mentee grow "emotionally and physically" while also seeing her grades improve since she began working with them as elementary students.

Perkins does not have any children of her own but is a proud aunt to six nieces and nephews, she said.

"My family is my core," she said.

Banks said four participants in the program have mentored Newton County School System students throughout its 15-year history, she said.

"Our mission is to build and strengthen the character and competence of children and youth, and we are committed to working together to change the world one child at a time," Banks said.

She said mentors are required to pass a criminal background check before being placed with a mentee.

If mentors develop a relationship with the mentee’s family, and the mentor and parents create an agreement that provides activities outside of the school setting, Newton Mentoring is "not liable," she said. The program requires mentors to mentor their mentee during the public school setting, Banks said.

Banks added it also can always use more volunteers in the program. Anyone interested or needing more information about the program can contact Banks at newtonmentor@yahoo.com or call 678-381-7948.