The senior 157-pound wrestler remembers what it was like for him when his parents got divorced early in his life and how his dad had to raise him and his siblings alone.

“He made a lot of sacrifices for me and my brother and sister,” he said. “Knowing the things he did for us and the troubles and issues we went through, I really see the other side of things and hardships in life.”

So when Brown came to Central Michigan, he knew where he could make a difference and help the kids that others could not.

Brown, interning at the Vision Program, an alternative middle school for kids ages 12 to 16 in Mount Pleasant, is getting a chance to make a difference.

“We try to do what we can in helping them succeed and move on,” Brown said. “Whether it just getting to and passing high school or beyond that.”

With only two classrooms, Vision allows a lot more one-on-one interaction that normally kids would not receive in a regular public school.

“We offer an opportunity for students who struggle in a traditional classroom setting,” said Matthew Cole, Director of the Vision Program. “They are at risk for failure because their needs require special time. Perhaps they have fear in larger groups or just don’t function well in large group settings and they are able to come here and focus on their needs to prepare them for high school.”

It is that one-on-one interaction that allows Brown to make a difference with the students, Cole said.

“With someone like him, we have the opportunity to give the students more of one-on-one interactions,” he said. “It isn’t always academic — sometimes if they are having a rough day, someone like Steve is able to sit in and work with them individually.”

Early on

Although Brown was caught by surprise by actions of students the first few days of the internship in early January, he quickly realized why he was picked.

“I feel a lot of the time these kids have behavior issues,” he said. “I have a background with it with some issues with my family or just kids that I grew up with. I feel like I can see the other side and give another view and reach the kids in a different way.”

One of the most important times for Brown to learn about and help the students comes after lunch during group sessions.

Students from the seventh and eighth grade will come together with Brown and the counselor at Vision, Kelly Martin, to go over ideas, concepts and feelings.

Brown said it can be frustrating at times, especially when a lot of the issues run deeper than one or two days of group sessions.

“I’ve only been with them for a couple of months, but I do see progress,” he said, “I feel like I have made a strong connection with some of the kids. Now that I have their attention and have their trust, now I can start working with them.

“There are a lot of things from their past or childhood that you can’t just fix in one night. I just want to start the process of getting better.”

Early on in the internship, Brown chose to learn about the kids instead of immediately going into lesson plan-type events, and he said it paid off.

Lesson plan

A few weeks into working at Vision, Brown was able to lead the group sessions by himself without Martin and chose to let the students pick what they would do during part of the 70-minute time period.

The students wanted to watch movies, and Brown decided to take movies such as “The Dark Knight” and “Drillbit Taylor” and turn them into learning experiences.

From the bullying in “Drillbit Taylor” to Bruce Willis not being respectful while falling asleep during meetings, Brown found a way for the students to learn concepts while they enjoyed their time.

They would all watch the movies for the first half an hour or so and the rest of the time talk about what they saw and learned.

“One of the things I want to do was get comfortable and get to know the kids,” he said. “So I let them choose what we got to do.”

And while Brown has to be an authoritative figure at school, he also wants to let the students see an example from someone who may have not had the easiest life but achieved well beyond what most would expect.

Future

Brown is planning on graduating this May with a degree in sociology with a concentration in criminal justice but, even with graduating, he is not planning on just leaving Vision when his internship ends.

“I try to be a role model,” he said. “I try to be someone they can look up to and aspire to. I just try to get them on the right path. I have been in athletics my whole life, so goal setting is important, trying to obtain the next level, looking up to people.”

Brown said he know every student he meets and talks to is different and not every student will be able to achieve as much as the staff wants, and he sees this as a future for himself — a way to help the community.

“Even if you can’t reach the entire class, you can reach one or two, then I feel like it is still a success,” he said.