Marquita Richey

D.A.R.E.’s impact continues to be long reaching…not only geographically, but in the span of generations that have been influenced by this remarkable program.

This year, Marquita Richey, a D.A.R.E. student in the 1990s and the D.A.R.E. America Scholarship co-recipient in 2002, will be hosting the new D.A.R.E. curriculum in her own 4th grade class in Saltillo, Mississippi. The class will be taught by Marquita’s original D.A.R.E. Officer, Lieutenant Sheri Hall from the Lee County Sheriff’s Department.

As a 6th grade D.A.R.E. student at Guntown Middle School, Lieutenant Hall states, “Marquita was smart, respectful and strived to make good choices.”  The D.A.R.E. instructor also recalls how Marquita stayed involved with D.A.R.E. from her 6h grade class on and attended D.A.R.E. camps each summer and volunteered to help the younger children.  “She also went on to serve on the National D.A.R.E. America Youth Advisory Board for two years, and as one of her projects set up a Peer P.L.U.S. (Play and Learn Under Supervision) program at Saltillo Elementary School to help tutor children who were having trouble with their schoolwork.”

As a young child, Marquita had solid goals and the strong desire to fulfill them. She learned many lessons through D.A.R.E. that helped her to stay on track, focused, and make good decisions.  She also met a life- long mentor in Officer Sheri Hall who is still a dear friend and now Godmother to her daughter.  Marquita knew that she wanted to succeed in school and strived to win the D.A.R.E. America Scholarship so that she could go to college to pursue her dream of becoming a school teacher herself.  After successfully winning the scholarship and completing her college degree at Mississippi State University, Marquita started teaching at Saltillo Elementary School.

After a few years, Marquita enrolled in graduate school to get her Master’s Degree in Education while continuing to teach.  After a great deal of dedication and hard work, Marquita graduated in 2009 with her Masters.  Marquita continues to teach fourth grade at Saltillo and is thrilled to have the skills to make a difference in the lives of so many children.  She also says, “I am excited about being able to continue my work with D.A.R.E. by offering the new elementary curriculum in my class. D.A.R.E. has been a big part of my life and I am honored that I am able to give feedback regarding a program that I love.”

Lieutenant Sheri Hall, who received the D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year award in 2005, adds, “Today, I listen to how much her students talk about her and how much they love her.  It is bittersweet to realize how much time has gone by.  By watching her, I know that students like her, are one of the reasons officers go into the class and teach D.A.R.E. each day. I am the one who is blessed as I watch her now with her students and even her own daughter.”

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