The Gentlemen of Excellence is a new club dedicated to forming and shaping the young men of Watkins Mill High School into contributing members of the community.

The Gentleman of Excellence was originally thought up by special education teacher Termaine Belote and English and IB Film teacher Jamaly Allen. “There hasn’t been anything school based in the building to help young men develop as young men, except for things in the wellness center,” said Belote.

“I wanted to develop a program to help teach young men to be leaders so that they could be the vanguard in the school and go help other kids get to the good side,” added Belote. With the help of counselor Michael Ryan and with a few months of preparation, the club was finally created.

As of now, the Gentlemen of Excellence holds meetings every Wednesday to discuss problems within our community, practice leadership skills, and promote school positivity. “We started holding a meeting in December, right before Christmas break,” Belote said. “We had an interest meeting and a couple of guys who came [to] that interest meeting decided to come back.”

Another main goal of the Gentlemen of Excellence is to bring in new members who need the positive influence. “All you hear is negative things about [Watkins Mill students] and we have a lot of good kids in the building. So if we can turn those good kids into leaders and then help them go and transform some of the other kids that need help,” Belote added.

“Coach Belote came into my class one day and said he was starting a group for guys just like [me],” junior club President Salekri Sayeh said, “And [said] ‘I would like for you to join me in my office during STEP,’”

The club has had great success so far, and are planning their next project. “So far we are thinking of new ideas of what to do. We right now are thinking of organizing an event that will involve kids from middle schools and Stedwick Elementary,” senior treasurer Raynolds Awusi said.

The club is not just limited to those that need the positive influence. “It is open to anybody. Any male in the building. Any student that is interested in improving themselves as men and helping the school improve as a whole,” Belote added.

The Gentlemen of Excellence club meets on Wednesday’s in the library conference room at STEP and is currently accepting students who would like to join. Talk to Mr. Belote for more information.