Woodlawn Cemetery program teaches leadership
BY KYLE VUILLE
Students from two local
middle schools spent the day
exploring Woodlawn Cemetery
alongside their teachers
and their mentor, retired NHL
All-Star player, Ron Duguay.
Students from M.S. 371 Urban
Institute of Mathematics
and P.S./M.S. 194 met on
Wednesday, November 13
outside one of the cemetery’s
many mausoleums where a
bus trolley would take them
on a trip to visit the monuments
and sites around Woodlawn.
Duguay for the past year
and a half has been coming to
Woodlawn Cemetery with different
schools in the area in
partnership with the Woodlawn
Student Leadership and
Legacy program to promote
leadership skills and inspire
the children to create their
own legacies.
According to Duguay,
he was approached by a colleague
of his at a hockey event
and was asked if he would be
interested in the mentorship
program.
With prior experience of
working with inner city youth
and raising fi ve kids himself,
he saw it as a no-brainer.
gala events, people are always
speaking on the subject of legacy.
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Duguay said while working
with charities and going to
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After awhile, he started to
ask himself, “what is my legacy?”
and how he could tie it
in with the community.
The program at Woodlawn
began in 2017 with one local
school and since then has
grown to include more then 40
area schools.
The three month program
incorporates the meaning of
leadership and legacy by having
the students research
some of the famous individuals
buried in Woodlawn while
exploring one of NYC’s largest
cemeteries.
“The program uses Woodlawn
to learn from the past,”
Duguay said.
Woodlawn is home to
some serious history makers
such as Madam C.J. Walker,
Fiorello LaGuardia, Elizabeth
Cady Stanton and Celia Cruz
to name a few.
The hopes of the program
are to inspire the children by
learning about these formidable
history makers and encouraging
students to be history
makers themselves.
Students who take part in
the program not only see to
understand the meaning of
legacy through the departed
laid to rest here, but they experience
Woodlawn Cemetery as
the historical landmark and
arboretum it truly is.
Jordan Fernandez, an educational
coordinator at Woodlawn
noted there are over
145 different species of trees
in Woodlawn, more than the
New York Botanical Garden
displays. Fernandez also expanded
on how the program
impacts child to see the cemetery
in a brighter light.
He added he likes to show
the children that whatever
they have done so far in their
life can change and building
a legacy is never ending
throughout your life.
Fernandez said he fi nds
what’s most important about
the program is showing the
children what leadership
skills look like and steering
them towards those qualities.
According to Duguay, the
program has had a grand effect
on the students. “The
teachers tell me kids who were
so shy are more talkative now,
for instance, running into a
teacher or principal, they will
say hi which seems small, but
it’s big for some of these kids,”
Duguay said.
Duguay said his primary
goal with the program is to
continue to inspire and encourage
the future of America.
(From L-R) Jordan Fernandez, Ron Duguay and John Grebe stand in front
of the Woodlawn Cemetery Trolley before departing for the loop around
Woodlawn with students. Duguay is a mentor for students for the Woodlawn
Student Leadership and Legacy program. Photo by Kyle Vuille
OLA HOLIDAY
FLEA MARKET
Saturday November 30, 2019
10am to 4pm
Our Lady of the Assumption Church
1634 Mahan Avenue-OLA GYM
(Enter on Middletown Road)
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