(S32) PT 1 - Mentor

[Mojojojo]

While Ernest comes from a small family — with only him and his brother — his wife Constance has a large extended family. In fact, it can be hard for Ernest to keep up with all that’s going on with his nephews, nieces, and cousins in-law. But Ernest is close with one of his nephews, Reid Goode, since he started playing football in his freshman year of high school. Playing at the Ripley High School where Ernest found his passion for football, Reid was quickly becoming a premier athlete. But Ernest worried that Reid was using sports to avoid some of the challenges he faced in the classroom. And as the first semester report cards made their way home, it became clear that Reid was struggling in school, particularly in the sciences. When Ernest talked to Reid about why his science grades were slipping, Reid answered that he had trouble memorizing facts and didn’t feel motivated to work on something that didn’t interest him. Reid was being given a chance to enter the science fair as an extra credit opportunity to bring up his grades, so Ernest worked with his wife Constance, a professional metallurgical engineer, to help Reid experiment with metal-based explosions like water and magnesium. The project helped Reid bring up his grades and sparked a new interest in science.