Birmingham, AL — May 5, 2022 — The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) of Alabama announced the recipients of its 2022 Outstanding Mentor Honorees in may 2022. A distinction of the Fellowship is the cross-sector collaboration between academics and the community, as seen in the recognition of outstanding mentors who played critical roles in the success of Schweitzer Fellows during their year in the program. T. Marie King of Jones Valley Teaching Farm received their awards in recognition of each honoree’s exemplary commitment to their ASF Fellow mentees.

As this year’s Outstanding Community Site Mentor Award recipient, King works as the Director of Youth Pathways and Experience at Jones Valley Teaching Farm, a nonprofit that works to deliver food-based education in Birmingham, Ala. King’s mentee, 2021-22 Fellow Ibukun Afon who is a graduate student in the UAB School of Health Professions, facilitated intergenerational dialogues with community members living in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Birmingham and student apprentices from Jones Valley Teaching Farm. These conversations were rooted in sharing experiences and perspectives about mental health and well-being, activism, food and nutrition, among other topics. The purpose of Afon’s project was to address social isolation and loneliness. As a result of the program, both older adults and student apprentices expressed improved social connection.

Afon commented on King’s dedication as a mentor: “T. Marie is everything I could have asked for in a site mentor. From the moment we met, I could see her passion for youth development and how much she cares about her students. We first spoke for over an hour and she poured into me quite a bit and, from there, helped guide how our project would run,” said Afon. “ T. Marie was kind in her delivery as she reminded me of the importance of being less rigid and more participatory as a member of the project rather than just a volunteer trying to document my hours.”

“I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to mentor Ibukun on his project and share my knowledge of working in communities,” said King. “It’s easy to come up with ideas – it’s harder to walk them out. Ibukun navigated the journey like a true leader. Not only were the intergenerational conversations he designed fun but impactful as well. I watched my apprentices get excited each week for their conversations and witnessed development of deep relationships with the matriarchs of Woodlawn.”

King was honored at ASF of Alabama’s Celebration of Service event on April 30, 2022, she was recognized alongside other honorees and the graduating 2021-22 class of ASF Fellows, composed of thirteen graduate students from the University of Montevallo, Samford University and UAB.