Airman learns life lesson

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tania Reid
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MacDill AFB, Fla. --  A Team MacDill Airman learned what it mean to be a big sister at MacDill's "Big for a day" held here at Raccoon's Creek, May 1.

Senior Airman Shawna Lang, 6th Medical Support Squadron medical technician, volunteered to mentor little sister Nicquel Andrews, 9 years old from the Big Brothers Big Sister program for the day.

The two played board games and enjoyed the scheduled activities while getting to know each other.

"I learned to play the board games Angry Animals and Guess Who from Shawna," said Nicquel Andrews. "This is my first time playing them and Shawna made playing the games fun."

In turn Nicquel taught Shawna to play some of her own games such as the the hand game "I don't want to go to Mexico."

"Maybe if I had a big sister I would have known about these games," said Airman Lang. "I missed out on those at school."

Some of the other activities for the day were MacDill exclusives such as a tour of a KC-135 and C-37A aircrafts.

Airman Lang escorted her little sister from each display explaining the functions of the aircraft.

Nicquel asked a lot of questions about the controls in the aircraft said Airman Lang. "The pilot told us we qualified to have our flying license," said Nicquel at the end of her tour.

This is the first time Airman Lang has been involved in a mentoring program for children and she was surprised to find that she had a lot in common with her little sister.

"She has two brothers and so do I," she said. "We are both class clowns and we like to make people laugh."

As the day went by Airman Lang learned her little sister's articulate and competitive personality as well as her background. She came from a single parent home and was Jamaican. Nicquel was one of the 68 Lils at MacDill's "Big for a day" that had been on a list for two years awaiting a sponsor.

Airman Lang said the experience helped reconnect her with her childhood and reminded her of what it was like growing up without a sister.

"Sometimes I wanted a big sister when I was her age because there are some things a sister can teach you that a brother can't," she said.

Anyone can volunteer to be a part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Members of the program go into the schools and read to a group of children, help with homework or anything else to make a difference in their lives for at least one hour a week. They may also spend one-on-one time with children after school hours. These are children who want a mentor and may not have a big brother or big sister figure in their lives already.

"A big brother or sister can impact a child like Nicquel's life positively by mentoring her even for a day which was an honor," added Airman Lang.