To the left, Maj. Bill Andrews, Commander of the Air Force Squadron at Camp Darby, Italy, works with the student council president through the Cooperative/Career Work Experience program. Maj. Andrews' contribution of time and effort contributes tremendously to student understanding of adult work life environments and the need to develop positive work relationships.

At Aviano Air Base, the host military community provides a full-time coordinator to assist military personnel in working with young adults attending the base schools. Jennifer Wilder, the Aviano mentoring coordinator, works with more than 50 active duty mentors who are helping students in grade 6-12.

At Aviano, commanders provide time off to participate in the program. All participants are provided training. The mentorship program is also undertaking a scientific study which tracks the achievement levels of participating students so as to gather hard facts on how the mentor programs can make a difference.

The Italy District applauds the efforts of all community members contributing to the high-quality academic and personal experiences of students in the DoD schools in Italy.