During our recent visit to Anna Maria Island in Florida, we noticed a man and a boy having a blast in the warm Gulf water. Every day. Almost all day. The man was built like a football player. The boy had the same build, even though he was only six years old. We later learned that the man was the boy’s (step) grandfather. And that the boy had autism.
I was so impressed with their boisterous loving interactions, that I asked the man (Jeff Lough) if I could write about his wonderful connection with the boy (Nico). He said “Sure!” And then he told me about another young man he’s been mentoring for several years. More on that relationship later.
Jeff Lough, age 61, has spent his entire life in Terre Haute, Indiana. He began his teaching career at a high school, before moving a year later to Woodrow Wilson Middle School, where he’s taught social studies for the last 37 years. He switched to middle school, because he thought he could make a bigger difference with the younger age group. “I can see kids dreaming, so I help them figure out what their plan needs to be.” He teaches six classes a day, each with about 30 students. When I suggested that that takes a lot of energy, he responded, “They give me energy.”
Jeff also coached varsity football for 37 years, before giving that up in order to spend more time with Nico and Mehkii Moore, his other mentee.
When Nico was three and a half, he couldn’t talk, so he began acting out. Jeff decided he needed to help the boy get on track. He hired a speech pathologist to help Nico verbally communicate his thoughts. He took Nico for boxing lessons to put him in a structured situation, which is essential for a boy like Nico. And he put him in a soccer program so he would learn to get along better with other kids. He will be entering kindergarten this fall. “Nico and I have a special relationship,” says Jeff, “he’ll challenge me, and I provide the loving discipline. He’s learning to know the difference between right and wrong.”
And then there’s the incredible story of Mekhi Moore. Mekhi, an African American, who spent his early years in a dysfunctional family, so he moved in with his grandmother. Mekhi played football as a sophomore at Terre Haute South High School, but he was “horrible,” according to Jeff. After coming off the field of his last game, Mekhi asked Jeff if he could help him become a better football player.”
Jeff took up the challenge. He prepared a rigorous weigh-lifting program for Mekhi. He also convinced the young man to stick with the wrestling team. The regime worked. The other football players didn’t even recognize Mekhi when he walked onto the field the next year. That year, he proceeded to lead the team in tackles and by his senior year, he had made All-Conference. In addition to playing football and wrestling, he threw the discus and shot in track.
Always a fine student, Mekhii took seven Advanced Placement courses during his senior year in such classes as calculus, physics, statistics and psychology. He earned a 3.96 grade point average. He also studied hard to get his ACT test scores from 31 up to 34, just four months later. He was determined to get into an Ivy League school, hopefully Harvard, his dream school. In his not-so-spare time, Mekhi was a member of the Student Leadership Committee, Advanced Chorus and Student Advisory Board.
Mekhi applied to all eight Ivy League schools. Jeff Lough was in Florida on vacation on the day that students were to be informed by email whether they’d been accepted. Jeff got on-line with Mekhi so he could be with him virtually, when he opened the emails. He saved Harvard for last. He got rejected by the first seven Ivy League Schools, everyone. It looked bad. Before opening the Harvard email, Mekhi stopped and said to Jeff, “Whatever happens with Harvard, I want to thank you for all you’ve done for me over the last few years.” Then he opened the email: Boom! Harvard had accepted him.
Mekhi, was ecstatic, of course. I asked Jeff how he felt. “I was in tears,” he admits, not being a man who hides his feelings.
Mekhi has excelled at Harvard. While he didn’t make the Harvard football team as a walk-on, he worked in the operations department for the team. He’s also begun playing rugby. He got three A’s and one B during his first semester, and he plans to major in astrophysics or economics.
“We had some favorite sayings we would use,” says Jeff, while explaining his relationship with Mekhi. “It’s process over product” and “Work where you’re weakest at” and “How you do anything is how you do everything.”
Jeff and Mekhi talk by phone every day and do FaceTime on the weekend. That relationship will last a lifetime.
What advice does Jeff Lough give to his middle school students? “Dream big but know that you have to work hard to get there.”
I’d add my own advice. “Listen to Mr. Lough. An amazing teacher and coach blessed with extraordinary wisdom. A big man with a big heart. The real deal.”
David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns. dtreadw575@aol.com.
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