This month’s Hometown Hero is Gloria Brown, She is an advisor on the Sisters in Action Team and Board and assists Miss Sonya Stevens with her endeavors and helping her achieve her dreams for Colleton County.
Brown is currently a schoolteacher and has been teaching for about 17 years and currently works for Dorchester District 2. She says, “I started my first job in Gary, Indiana but then came to the area and worked at Cottageville Elementary, and Black Street Elementary.”
Brown was born in Brooklyn, New York but spent the majority of her life in South Carolina, and graduated from Walterboro High School in 1997.
In High School Brown liked the structure of the military, She states, “I was a part of the JROTC program and I also joined the marching band under Mr. Young and Mr. Finnegan. So I had a lot of practice being in uniform with the band and ROTC. I joined the Army and left for basic training after graduation.” Brown did four years of active service in the Army and decided to come back home to make a difference in the community.
Brown enjoys her participating in the Sisters in Action program and adds, “The fact that it has such a powerful impact on young girls. Just to see the camaraderie amongst young girls to see how the program has altered the trajectory of their lives, seeing girls who are in conflict and high-risk situations, have a few sessions and a few meetings and change just completely change their way of thinking, their ideologies, setting them up for success academically and socially. That meant a lot to me.”
Brown describes a wide variety of programs, “We have everything from me teaching them Double-Dutch in the gym, to conversations about academics and what you’re going to do after high school. We talk about social things like teen pregnancy and bullying. We talked about parental dynamics getting along in the schools, how to even relate to adults, their teachers to have a more cohesive learning environment at the schools. We had a prom with a dance and donated dresses. The group has held Christmas dinners, done volunteer work, and fed the community. The sessions are very interactive.”
Among some of the successes Brown says, “I have honestly prevented many fights and physical altercations, which the middle school is unfortunately known for. I’ve been able to intervene and step in there with tutoring because I’m a certified teacher. So, tutoring kids, helping them when they’re having conflicts with teachers I can advocate for them, even to the point where we had some, personal hygiene and other things going on, just helping them to take some of that stress off of them because Middle School is awkward age.
In her spare time, she likes to look at TikTok, loves to dance and read. She also loves to travel during her summers off, traveling to such places as Germany, Aruba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica.
When asked what she would like to do in the community she says, “I actually wanted to start my own nonprofit for single mothers. I would like to have like a situation where I could help single mothers get started on their lives, where they would have safe childcare for their kids while they were getting job training, things like that.. I don’t know how it would work but that has always been like a dream of mine to work with children and their families, especially mothers who are just struggling. At some point. They just need that little help behind the scenes and that will change the trajectory of their lives.
