A Senior With a Plan: How Aries Fore Is Building His Future Through I AM MENtality
Some young men come into a program ready to be pushed. Others come in ready to lead. Aries Fore came in knowing the difference between the two.
A Senior at Parkville High School, Aries has been part of I AM MENtality for nearly two years. In that time, he has stayed consistent, stayed connected, and stayed focused on something a lot of young men his age are still working to figure out: what kind of person he wants to be.
Showing Up With Intention
Aries did not stumble into this. His mother, April Fore, made a decision on behalf of her son's future and enrolled him in I AM MENtality because she wanted more for him. Not more in the vague sense. More structure. More accountability. More exposure to what is possible.
That is exactly what parent engagement looks like in practice. A parent who sees the potential in her son and finds a program built to develop it.
Aries showed up and did his part. Outside of I AM MENtality, he runs indoor track and plays lacrosse. He is thinking practically about his next steps, including finding work that lets him build toward financial independence. For a young man still in high school, that level of self-awareness is not common. It is developed.
Parents do not enroll their sons in organizations they do not believe in. April did. That is where Aries's story starts.
What He Got Out of It
When asked what he values most about being part of I AM MENtality, Aries said it simply: "meeting new people and creating new bonds."
That answer carries more weight than it might seem. For young men navigating Baltimore, isolation is often the real threat. Not just physical safety, but the kind of isolation that comes from not having the right people around. Aries found a community that takes that seriously.
He also carries something worth passing on. When asked what advice he would give to peers who want to lead, he said: "just to communicate a lot, take responsibility for your actions if you mess up, and be accountable for them."
Those are not talking points. That is a young man who has been in rooms where accountability was modeled and took it seriously enough to make it his own.
Accountability is not something you can teach in a classroom. It is something you absorb from the people around you. Aries has been around the right people.
The Bigger Picture
Aries is one of more than 400 young men enrolled in I AM MENtality programming across Baltimore. Each one arrives with a different story, a different set of challenges, and a different starting point. What the program does is meet them where they are, assess what they actually need, and build from there.
That is not how most youth programs operate. Most organizations build the curriculum first and fit the young person into it. I AM MENtality works the other way. The young man shapes what the support looks like. Leadership development, workforce development, financial literacy, health and wellness. Four pillars, and every combination of them applied based on what each individual needs to move forward.
Aries is proof that when a young man is met with that kind of investment, he grows into someone worth listening to.
How You Can Be Part of This
The bonds Aries built, the accountability he carries, the future he is planning: none of that happened by accident.
It took a program. It took mentors. It took families willing to invest in something real. If you believe Baltimore's young men deserve that kind of support, the next step is straightforward. Learn more about I AM MENtality's programs or visit the About page to understand what makes this organization different. When you are ready to put resources behind the work, donate here. Aries is building something.
Help us make sure the next young man gets the same opportunity.