Retired Warren County Principal Speaks to VGCC Early College High School Students

Dr. Tony Cozart, a longtime Warren County principal, Granville County Commissioner and pastor of Cooks Chapel Baptist Church in Warrenton, spoke to a group of approximately 100 Warren Early College High School students on Oct. 20 at the VGCC Warren County Campus. His presentation was part of the Fall Semester Speakers Series sponsored by the VGCC Male Mentoring Success Initiative (MMSI).

Anthony Pope, the MMSI Coordinator, had met with Warren Early College Principal Tracey Neal earlier in the semester and asked who she would like to have speak to her students. She immediately asked for Cozart, because he had mentored her during her years of preparation to become a principal.

Cozart started out by asking the students to partner with a classmate and read a copy of the Rudyard Kipling poem, “If.” He asked them, “What part of this poem could you relate to events in your own personal lives?” Several students responded by giving their interpretation of what a certain line or lines in the poem meant and how that related to things that have happened to them. “The students were very attentive as Dr. Cozart kept them actively engaged in the presentation,” Pope said. “There was a positive flow of energy in the room as students engaged with each other and with Dr. Cozart.” The speaker had students answer questions about themselves, including telling their classmates about three things that they know they can do well. The students were eager to share their answers, and Cozart also used this as an opportunity to brag on a couple of his former elementary school students who now attend WECHS. He encouraged the high school students to get involved in their communities and to “use every experience as an opportunity to help someone else, whether it be mentoring younger youth or helping senior citizens.”

In closing, he cautioned the students to avoid those “slippery slopes,” or those things that they knew could lead to trouble, problems or failures. The students gave him a round of applause, and several of his former students stayed around to talk to him after the presentation. “What a wonderful opportunity for these students to hear from someone who has been involved with the local schools at various levels for over 36 years,” Pope said. “Dr. Cozart has impacted the lives of many of the parents, uncles, aunts, cousins and other family members of some of these Early College students, and he still has a passion for inspiring our youth.”

As a retired educator, Cozart has seen the evolution and the transformation of the public school systems in Warren and surrounding counties. He began his professional career as a teacher and assistant principal in Vance County Schools from 1980-1987. Over the next 29 years, Cozart served as principal at Norlina Middle, South Warren Elementary and Warren County High Schools, among other administrative positions. He retired in 2012 and has served as pastor of Cooks Chapel since 2004.

“Dr. Cozart has been an educator, leader and a staple in this community for many years,” Principal Neal said. “WECHS students certainly benefited from his motivational session on ‘Be The Best That YOU Can Be.’”

For more information on the Male Mentoring Success Initiative, contact Anthony Pope at (252) 738-3395 or popea@vgcc.edu .

 

Above: Tony Cozart speaks to Warren Early College High School students.