In everyday life, there are always going to be obstacles.

Keisha Chapman

But, as Keisha Chapman points out, “It’s all about your attitude and how you deal with things. Failure is not an option.” That is among the life-building messages Chapman and 11 other employees are sharing this year with sixth graders at Anniston Middle School. Chapman, a customer service representative at the Anniston Office, chairs the project sponsored by the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO).

Since the beginning of the school year, as part of the school’s Class Act program, individual members of Alabama Power’s team have met every Tuesday at 8:15 a.m. with the middle school class taught by Coach Green. APSO’s Eastern Division Chapter volunteers taking part include Patricia Armour, customer service representative; Salena Cook, market specialist; Debbie Davis, customer service representative; retiree James Glover; Loretta Hanna, Risk Management supervisor; Brandon Johnson, engineer; Kisha Linley, Anniston Accounting Services manager; Latoya Miller, customer service representative; Alphonso Newton, Transmission lineman; Joe Tillery, Distribution specialist; and Kiyunda Smoot, supervisor – Anniston Office. The company volunteers share their personal experiences and thoughts, sharing lessons from the book ‘Success for Teens.’

The goal of Class Act is to foster ethics, and teach good character and responsibility by serving as strong role models for the young people. Chapman’s team emphasizes values such as respect, honesty, fairness, compassion, responsibility, civility, courage and kindness. The project is a big commitment, Chapman said, but volunteers are a cross section of the company, allowing employees to avoid missing the weekly 45-minute session. Alabama Power’s team is among 46 other business, civic and community volunteers serving in Class Act during the 2013-2014 school year.

In October, for instance, Chapman and Cook talked with the students about preventing bullying in support of National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month.

“Salena gave them the quote, ‘My integrity is more important than my popularity,’ which has remained on the board in their room,” Chapman said. “We jumped on this topic really hard, and explained to the students how important it is not to bully. At the same time, if you’re witnessing someone being bullied, you’re just as guilty as the person doing it.”

Employees quickly see the results of the mentoring sessions, said Chapman, who has served in the Class Act program for about three years. At the start of the year, she said, students are usually bashful and hesitate to share their ideas, while some kids are disrespectful and uninterested in hearing employees’ viewpoints. However, as the team spends more time with the class and fosters relationships with students, the young people grow more confident and understand the role that employees are providing.

“We can see the kids wanting to do more, and be more,” she said. “The men in our group are awesome. They reach out to the younger guys and try to make them see, ‘Hey, you can be me someday.’ It’s not always easy. They tell the students that you sometimes have to start with small steps to get to where you need to be in life. Your attitude will take you a long way. You’ve got to have a mindset you can do it, and keep at it.”

Those are lessons Chapman shares with her own children, Vnonte, 22, Vanasia, a 17-year-old junior in high school, and Vonquel, who is 10 and a third grader. She recognizes that it is important to children’s confidence to be around positive adults who help reinforce the importance of having a “can do” attitude in working toward their goals for the future.

Linley said that she enjoys seeing students’ personal growth. “There’s a lot of bonding, and you get to know the students by the end of the year,” Linley added.

For Chapman, the class gets “better and better” each week.

“Their whole attitude changes,” noted Chapman. “If we only touch one person in the classroom, we have made a real accomplishment. I love this program.”