Unlike lots of kids her age, and even some a lot older, Alexandria Dugas doesn't have to yell "yes sergeant major'' when she answers a question from Robinette Pryor, recently named Georgia's 2012 Big Sister of the Year.
But the 17-year-old senior at Patrick Henry High School in Stockbridge may well follow her "big" into the military, and might even make it her career.
That's how much she's been influenced by Pryor, a sergeant major and 20 year Army veteran who volunteered four years ago to help Dugas overcome severe introversion even though the "sarge" had a son of her own to raise.
"Being a single parent with a young son I always felt mentorship was important, so I sought out positive male role models for him," Pryor says. "I felt like it was important for his passage toward manhood."
Then it dawned on her that young girls could use role models, too, so she contacted the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta organization and volunteered to help.
After a rigorous screening process, she was matched up with Dugas.
"Robinette changed my life," Dugas says. "I love her. I'll always have a relationship with her."
When the two came together, Dugas was shy beyond words, says her mother, Carlotta Johnson, but "has made a complete turnaround."
As a single mom raising four children, working "one to two full-time jobs and going to school at the same time, I knew I needed help," she says. "Someone recommended BBBSMA and I jumped on it."
Now, her daughter has big plans for her future and doesn't hesitate to speak in public or even sing the National Anthem in front of crowds.
"Robinette talked to her on how to maintain discipline, study habits, do her homework," Johnson says. "She helps Alex focus on her dreams. They do all kinds of things together — cook, go to concerts, even to a big car race down in Hampton. She is like a second mom."
Pryor, 42, whose son Sean is in the Army and expects to deploy to Afghanistan in a few months, feels she's gotten at least as much out of her relationship with Alex as the teenager has.
"If she wants to go into the military, I'll guide her," Pryor says. "I'm so proud. We're like sisters."
In a letter to the BBBSMA organization, Alex wrote that she has been inspired by her "Big" to think big.
"I can call and just say 'hi,' laugh with her, share my secrets," Alex says. "She's my best friend, not a second mother."
And she plans "to go into the service" just like her mentor.
Pryor says her "Little" has become a leader and is involved in an anti-bullying campaign at school.
Janice McKenzie-Crayton, president and CEO of BBBSMA, says Pryor "is a shining example of the power of mentoring and helping a child fulfill his or her potential."
She says there are several thousand adult mentors in the program and that Pryor was selected Big Sister of 2012 for Georgia by a group of senior BBBS executives.
"While our agency is proud to have served nearly 3,400 children last year, we have hundreds of children waiting to be matched with a caring adult," she says.
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