By Marshall Tempest
Reporter
Over 12 years of teaching and coaching at Apopka Memorial Middle School (AMMS), Mel Bolden saw a need with the young people under his tutelage: They needed soft skills training and exposure to various experiences and career fields.
Seeing the gaps, Bolden stepped up to fill them. In December, he founded the Preparing Our Leaders Organization (POLO) for both boys and girls, and the mentoring program has quickly grown to 185 combined students in just four months.
“I hope that the mentees I have today become tomorrow’s mentors,” Bolden said in an interview. “I hope they remember that somebody came into their life and poured great things into them. Then they do it to the next person’s life.”
Bolden is a grassroots Apopkan who is deeply involved in the community and invested in the success of the next generation of Apopkans. He graduated from Apopka High School and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and has pursued a successful graphic design and photography career while teaching at AMMS.
Bolden has always mentored youth, even before becoming a teacher or founding POLO. His father was highly involved with the Apopka community and constantly gave back with his time. He said that growing up around that ingrained in him the importance of mentorship and giving back to the community.
In addition to teaching, Bolden is the athletic director and coach of all the sports teams at AMMS. It was during this time around Apopka students that he found the idea for POLO.
“Working with the youth, I’m always speaking to them,” Bolden said. “Just having that listening ear and having them share the things they want to do, the places they want to go, and just hearing some of the things that they never did – that I had the opportunity to do.”
The program aims to teach the next generation the importance of respect, listening and networking. While those are the main goals, POLO is also about providing the opportunity to learn and experience different activities and perspectives.
Bolden brings guest speakers to each POLO meeting who provide a look into a career. POLO has had guest speakers ranging from welders to military veterans to entrepreneurs and much more.
“I’m just getting them ready for the real world,” Bolden said. “I’m just trying to get them to see that there is more to life than the options they know about. We could get them into trade schools, colleges or careers. We’re just trying to expose them to different positive things and people.”
POLO also allows students to experience things that would enrich their lives and their pursuit of success. Bolden told me it was simple things at first, like students who had never been fishing. Fishing was something he grew up doing and didn’t see as a big deal, but seeing and hearing from kids who had never had that opportunity made him want to provide it for them.
The field trips POLO provides for its members are potentially life-changing, including a program favorite: a trip to EA Sports Headquarters. The trip happened over spring break, and the kids got to tour the facility and see how the multi-billion-dollar video game developer creates game franchises like Madden and NCAA College Football. EA Sports even let them play the unreleased Madden 26 before it releases later this year and guaranteed a free copy of either Madden 26 or NCAA College Football 26.
A tour of EA Headquarters with POLO
Since its inception in December, POLO has grown into a large program that is continuously expanding. POLO currently has 115 boys and 70 girls as members, ages 8 to 17. The program provides a safe, like-minded, and community-driven environment for the Apopka youth to prepare for their future.
“I have a very positive view on the POLO mentoring program,” Nakhi Bell, a 14-year-old member, said. “Coach Bolden provides excellent guidance to young kids who are struggling or need help. He exposes them to various activities, organizes trips and teaches them valuable life skills to help them become respectful young adults.”
Bell said POLO has also helped her become a better person and friend. It has given her the confidence to advise her friends and others when they are making poor choices.
POLO meetings are held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. each Thursday at One Family Church, 500 S Highland Ave, Apopka. Through meetings and a point system, POLO promotes good behavior and the rest of its core principles, such as accountability and supporting others.
The point system is how the POLO members earn the ability to participate in fantastic field trips. Just being at meetings doesn’t guarantee you will be a part of the next excursion.
The point system works as follows: attending meetings and community events grants 10 points each, church events grant 20 points each, the A-B honor roll grants 10 points, all A’s grants 15 points, a good report from a teacher, parent or other grants five points and a good progress report grants 10 points.
But you can also be deducted points for bad behavior (-20 points), trouble in school (-20 points), trouble at home (-20 points), being late (-5 points), D’s or F’s on a report card (-10 points), foul language (-10 points), a bad progress report (-10 points) and fighting (-50 points). It’s much easier to lose points than earn them.
Bolden created the point system because he worried members would only attend the fun events. He needed to develop a system that kept them from abstaining from the events they didn’t think were fun.
“They don’t play around about their points—they are on top of their points,” Bolden said. “They know how many points they got and always ask me about their points. So, the system seemed to be working very well.”
Bolden says the response from the Apopka community has been immense and game-changing for the program. He told me that most of the food for their meetings is provided or donated by those wishing to help the program. Bolden said that nearly all the shirts purchased for the members were paid for by donations from the community.
Bolden said the biggest obstacle for him and POLO is his need for support. He is thankful for all the support he has received and continues to receive, but he said administering the program by himself is not easy. Bolden told me that when people aren’t getting paid and the work is hard, people come and go.
Bolden points to obstacles like transportation. Finding a feasible and safe option to transport 185 kids is difficult, but Bolden has made it work. He said he has found a way to borrow a bus at times to make transportation easier.
Bolden told me he sees a bright future for POLO and dreams of expanding far past Apopka.
“I see it growing, man, not just in Orange County, but I think different counties…” Bolden said. “I hope it’s just a chain reaction that just keeps going and going, spreading positivity. That’s how I’ll know I’ve got something that will outlive me. That’s the important thing.”
Bolden said he had doubts about starting the program, but he is glad he did.
“Like Nike says – just do it,” Bolden said. “Because it’s never going to be the right time. Everything is never going to be all together.”
Bolden urged parents in the Apopka community to talk to their kids and give POLO a chance. He said that nine out of 10 kids who have come to a meeting have loved it and stayed to become part of the program. Even some of the program members urged fellow Apopka youth to come out.
“POLO mentoring is a great program, and I’m enjoying it,” Jakyvion Kemp, a 15-year-old Apopka High School student and POLO member, told me. “We learn a lot, meet new people and become better individuals. It would be beneficial for your child as it helps them stay away from negative influences and become successful.”
Bolden said if he could have the POLO members remember one thing about their time with the organization, it would be that he went all-out for them every day. He said he’s constantly working to improve POLO and its experiences.
“Life is short,” he said. “I know I won’t have them forever. I know they go and move on, but I want to give them the best experience ever so they can remember that for the rest of their lives.”
