Team Marco

Marco Garcia Camacho has been focused on one word since first grade: Army.

When Army Lt. Wes Porter first came to visit him in January, he reacted with a different word: Wow.

Marco didn’t know about Porter coming to see him, and when the Army lieutenant walked in wearing fatigues, Marco was awestruck, his eyes lighting up with joy. 

“It was as if his superhero had just showed up,” said Alli Phelps, Marco’s ESL teacher at Shades Cahaba Elementary School. “It felt like Christmas morning seeing him look at Wes.”

Their relationship began two years ago. Marco, then a first-grader, had been struggling in school, and his mom had told Phelps he wasn’t helping out at home. 

“He is very bright and has a wonderful, loving family, but he’s struggled in making the right choices,” Phelps said.

Sue Grogan, who was the principal at Shades Cahaba at the time, sat down with Marco one day to talk about his behavior, knowing that he had told his teacher he wanted to be a soldier.

In order to get there one day, she told him, he would have to work hard in school and learn to read and write and do math, and the reason she knew that was because her own son was in the Army.

Porter was stationed in Afghanistan at the time, but when he was on leave a few months later, he sent Marco an Army PT (physical training) shirt with a letter about being responsible and respecting his parents. The shirt became an instant staple in Marco’s wardrobe.

Fast-forward to this January. Porter, who had moved back to Birmingham, and Grogan were eating lunch at Jason’s Deli and talking about how they could make a difference in someone else’s life. Grogan is now retired, and Porter works with the Vestavia Hills Fire Department and Army National Guard. Both wanted to be intentional about how to use newfound flexibility in their time. During lunch Grogan heard her phone buzz with a text. Something told her to check it. Grogan hadn’t heard from Phelps in several months, but the text was from her — a photo of Marco.

In it Marco stood in front of the dry erase board where he and his classmates were writing one word to symbolize their New Year’s resolutions. Phelps told the students they could take a while to think about their word, but Marco knew his right away: Army.

Grogan immediately showed the text to Porter.

“Maybe that’s a good thing to think about,” she told Porter, who was impressed by Marco’s determination.

Within a few hours, Porter had worked out a plan with Marco’s teachers to spend time mentoring him.

“I think these things don’t just happen out of coincidence,” Grogan said. “I felt that was a God-given answer that day.”

During their 45-minute weekly meetings, Porter and Marco talk about their goals and hold each other accountable to them. Porter gives Marco a note card for each Army value, and then Marco is charged with sharing them with his classmates and family.

“Honor, loyalty, selfless service…” Marco recites.

“It’s sweet to see how they are holding each other accountable,” said Emily Colon, Marco’s third-grade teacher. “[Marco] wants to show off good test scores to Porter. It’s a great thing for him.”

But Marco and Porter also “get hot and sweaty and do guy stuff,” Porter said.

Being in the Army requires being physically fit, Porter tells him, and that’s not accomplished overnight, just like the other goals they are setting. Their goal for the 5K was not to run but for Team Marco, which also included some of Porter’s friends and Phelps’ family, to finish it.

“He’s getting it, but he’s being a normal third-grader too,” Porter said. “It’s a blast.”

Phelps said she has seen a difference in Marco since he started meeting with Porter. In the spring he was scoring higher on reading tests. 

“I know it’s because he is reading more and thinking more,” she said. “Now I see him being very respectful toward the girls [in his reading group].”

For Marco, it’s still all about the Army.

“I want to help my country,” Marco said. “I am a big Army fan, and I want to help my family, too.”

But ultimately, Team Marco is bigger than just Marco and Porter.

“It’s not about the two of us,” Porter said. “It’s about being leaders in our community.”