Stay in the Game!'s mission was echoed by Harris and Thrash during their visits, as they talked about the importance of attending school and how it can help students achieve their goals. Harris mentioned that attending school can help develop life skills.
"Well, one is developing a routine, even on your worst days. If you have a routine, you'll be able to snap out of any little rut you might be in," Harris said. "Also, it's just good to just be around other kids. I think the biggest thing is just hanging out with your friends and for six, seven, eight hours of your day, whatever your home situation is, you don't have to worry about that while you're in school. You can go and hang out and feel like everybody else just for a small part of the day."
Once the students heard from Harris and Thrash about the importance of attendance, they participated in fun, Halloween-themed activities. One activity was having to guess what spooky item was in a box. Students were then given pumpkins to decorate with paint pens, pom-poms, stickers and other fun adornments.
The biggest treat came when the Browns and Huntington Bank surprised Dewitt with her own personalized jersey, as well as field passes to the Browns' home game against the Ravens on Nov. 16 in recognition of her dedication to supporting student success in the classroom.
"Teachers, as we know, are preparing every single one of our successors, and those successors are sitting in the classrooms, learning from those teachers," Huntington Bank Director of Community Partnerships and Colleague Engagement Christina Brown said. "Every student we come in contact with are the individuals who will ultimately lead and work in our communities. It's so important that we set them up for success and provide a solid educational foundation."