Nazareth Vidal--Moving in to greatness!

Nazareth Vidal is a go-getter! She called Thursday afternoon explaining she had a dilemma. Her school counselor had just given her a scholarship application and it was due in a couple of days. She had to have letters of recommendation and had to fill out the paperwork. Instead of throwing up her hands and saying, "That's not enough time!" Nazareth started making phone calls. By the time I called her back she had already gotten one letter of recommendation and needed one from a community member...which would be me. Despite having a ton of things to do, because she is so persistent and diligent, I took time to write the letter.

Nazareth will be graduating from Skyline high school this year. But she has no intention of taking a break. Nazareth had applied for the Bank of America internship as well as the AmeriCorps position. Nazareth likes making sure all of her bases are covered. She is always looking for a new experience and always wanting to step in to the best possible opportunity she can find. So, when she was chosen as one of the 10 people (out of 400 applicants!) for the Bank of America internship, she seized the opportunity.

Nazareth comes from an amazing family that pushes her and encourages her. As mentioned in the video above, her brother, Gustavo, was also awarded the Bank of America internship two years ago as well. I'm always very proud and humbled to be included in young peoples' successes. I'm always so impressed by young adults like Nazareth.

Congrats, Nazareth!

Veronica White--Bachelor's in Communication from UTA

I received a text at 9:00 on a Friday night explaining..."I'm graduating tomorrow at 4:00 and just got extra tickets. I'd like for you to come." Despite already having plans that might overlap, I wasn't going to miss a college graduation!

About six or seven years ago Veronica's sister lived in Turner Courts, about two doors down from our After-School Academy. Veronica was living with her mom in the Roseland scattered sites. Marva Epperson-Brown knew Veronica's mom and knew that Veronica was looking for a job. Knowing we were hiring, Marva sent Veronica to me. After interviewing and hiring her, we put her to work with the kids. Veronica continued working in our University of Values summer program as a teacher every summer until she graduated from high school.

Congratulations to you, Veronica! I am so happy for you and look forward to seeing what comes next!

Graduates--May 2010

Congratulations to our May 2010 Graduates!

• Nazareth Vidal--Skyline High School--will go to UT-Austin in the fall and is planning to major in Engineering, but is also interested in teaching. Nazareth was involved in our University of Values summer program as a student, volunteer, and teacher
• Michael Woodard--North Dallas High School--will go to SMU on a full-ride scholarship and is also planning on majoring in Engineering. Michael came to us as a Mayor Intern through Education is Freedom and came back this year for our Digital Connectors program
• Veronica White--UTA--graduated with a Bachelors degree in Communication. Veronica began when she was a teenager, working in our After-School and summer programs.
• Rachel Embry--Texas A & M-Commerce--graduated with a Master of Educational Technology-Library Science. Rachel was the coordinator of our After-School Academy for two years before returning to the classroom at Pearl C. Anderson middle school.

We had a party at my house to celebrate their amazing achievement. I realized I didn't even get the graduates on tape!...but you can see how everyone came together to help out. Look for great things from each one of them! 

As each one of them graduates, I'm sure I'll have more posts to show.

Foot loose but College-bound!

The After-School Academy's Spring Break was full of events. I was able tag along on Thursday as they went to Texas A & M-Commerce.

Dr. Foote is in charge of the Education Department. She came and talked with us about college, read us a book, and then gave us squeezable lions (the Texas A & M-Commerce mascot) so that we could relieve our stress on the TAKS test.

We met Mr. Jerome, who runs the Rec center. The Rec center was really cool. We went on their basketball courts, ran around their indoor track, saw the huge rock wall, looked in the windows of the racquetball court, and then looked at their huge outdoor pool, sand volleyball courts, and basketball courts...all for college students! Mr. Jerome was so impressed with the way we listened and greeted him that he invited us back in to give us each a t-shirt!

We also met a campus police officer who gave us each a police badge tattoo that we could put on our arm.





Throughout our trip we were toured around by college students who used to be in our after-school and summer programs. Main is a Business major. He is a barber on the side, which helps him make money for college. Bridgette is an English major. She wants to teach English when she graduates. Keith is a Kinesiology major. Kinesiology has to do with sports. He is a football player for the Texas A & M-Commerce Lions. Jessica is an Education major. She has taught us in the summer before. She came to join us after her classes were over and before she went to work at the Boys & Girls Club.

Thanks to everyone who helped make our trip to Texas A & M-Commerce fun and educational!