CrossRoadsNews, May 22, 2010 - Section B

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Lithonia High School graduatess stand during their May 16 Pre-Commencement program. The class of 348 seniors is holding its graduation ceremony at Greater Travelers Rest Church on May 22.

Ronald E. McNair, Sr. High school graduates share happy smiles before the start of their May 16 Pre-Commencement Ceremony at Beulah Baptist Church in Decatur.

A Miller Grove graduate receives an hug after their May 16 pre-commencement program at the Lithonia school.

McNair boys gather for a photo before their Pre-Commencement Exercise.

Tucker High School girls embrace one another before their May 16 Pre-Commencent.

Yes, we did it DeKalb schools to graduate 5,997 seniors

www.crossroadsnews.comMay 22, 2010 Section B

Salute to the Class of 2010

B2 Graduation

2010 Graduations

Countywide, more than 5,992 DeKalb County seniors have been picking up diplomas and certificates of attendance at commencement exercises.

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School Date Time LocationAvondale Friday, May 21 5 p.m. Ray of Hope ChurchCedar Grove Saturday, May 22 10 a.m. Panthersville StadiumChamblee Friday, May 21 5:30 p.m. North DeKalb StadiumClarkston Saturday, May 22 12 p.m. Hallford StadiumColumbia Friday, May 21 7:30 p.m. Georgia State UniversityCross Keys Friday, May 21 8 p.m. Adams StadiumDeKalb Alternative/ Thursday, May 20 2 p.m. New Beginning Full Gospel ChurchElizabeth Andrews DECA Friday, May 21 6 p.m. Porter Sandford CenterDeKalb School of the Arts Friday, May 21 7 p.m. Avondale Baptist ChurchDestiny Academy Sunday, May 16 4 p.m. Chapel at New Birth Missionary Baptist Druid Hills Friday, May 21 5 p.m. Civic CenterDunwoody Friday, May 21 5:30 p.m. First Baptist ChurchLakeside Saturday, May 22 10 a.m. New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Lithonia Saturday, May 22 9 a.m. Greater Traveler’s RestMargaret Harris Friday, May 14 10 a.m. S. CafeteriaMartin L. King, Jr. Saturday, May 22 2 p.m. Georgia DomeMcNair Thursday, May 20 7 p.m. New Birth Missionary Baptist ChurchMiller Grove Saturday, May 22 5 p.m. New Birth Missionary Baptist ChurchRedan Saturday, May 22 10 a.m. Georgia DomeSouthwest DeKalb Sunday, May 23 4 p.m. New Birth Missionary Baptist ChurchStephenson Friday, May 21 4:30 p.m. New Birth Missionary Baptist ChurchStone Mountain Thursday, May 20 6 p.m. Georgia DomeTowers Friday, May 21 8 p.m. New Birth Missionary Baptist ChurchTucker Saturday, May 22 2: p.m. New Birth Missionary Baptist Church

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CrossRoadsNews May 22, 2010B2

B3Graduation “I am very proud of him. He didn’t ask for this. To know that he kept going. I am very proud.”

Columbia magnet student battles illness to graduate with classBy Jennifer Ffrench Parker

People who know Cimiyun Benson de-scribe him in superlatives.

They use words like “amazing,” “tena-cious,” “tough,” and his grand aunt Rose Lummus-Green’s favorite, “miracle child.”

The Columbia High magnet senior moves people, and not just because of the obstacles he has overcome. He moves them with his humble and thankful spirit, and his utter determination to graduate with his 2010 classmates.

After nine months on his back at Chil-dren’s Healthcare at Egleston in 2009 – four of those months in intensive care fighting for his life – Cimiyun was set to walk the aisle with Columbia High’s 287 seniors at their May 21 Graduation Ceremony at Georgia State to collect his diploma.

“I came out of the hospital and did what I was supposed to do,” said Cimiyun, who passed the Georgia High School Graduation Test in November, two months after he was out of the hospital. “I deserve to graduate.”

He completed his class work as a home-bound student and is leaving high school with a 2.5 GPA.

“I am a self-motivated person,” he said this week. “If something is trying to keep me from doing something I try to do better.”

But by all accounts, 18 year-old Cimiyun, shouldn’t have made it to graduation. In fact, his doctors and parents say, there were times, few expected him to live.

His mother Teneshia Benson, said they wanted her to pull the plug on him several times.

“I told them no,” she said. “I didn’t receive anything from God saying it was time for my son to go home. I don’t do anything without consulting God first.”

With prayers and sheer determination, Cimiyun rebounded.

Dr. Paul Parker, the surgeon who oper-ated on him 20 times to repair his perfo-rated intestines, said he would be shocked if someone else, who went through what he did, managed to graduate.

“But knowing Cimiyun, I am not sur-prised,” he said. “He is just amazing.”

Parker called Cimiyun tough and said he

inspired his medical team to keep trying in the face of great odds.

“Even in his darkest hour, Cimiyun looked at us and said, ‘failure is not an op-tion’,” Parker said. “He inspired us.”

When he was scheduled to leave the hospital, Parker said Cimiyun had the big-gest going-home party ever thrown at the hospital.

“There must have been 50 people there,”

he said. “Everybody came. The doctors came, the nurse, the residents. Everybody was happy for him.”

Cimiyun was training for his school’s football team when he took ill in November 2008.

The flu-like symptoms that descended on the 10th grader were just the first sign of the trouble to come.

He was later diagnosed with the rare au-toimmune illness, dermatomycitis, a chronic arthritic disease that afflicts the skin and weakens the muscles. Side effects from the medication he was taking ravished his intes-tines and cause his lungs and kidneys to fail and thinned his blood so much, his mother said he bled liters of blood.

Monica Green Waterman, his gradua-tion coach, said Cimiyun’s determination to graduate with his class was inspiring.

“Even against all the obstacles he has faced, he managed to persevere,” she said Thursday.

Waterman said his classmates never for-got him while he was away.

“They always dropped by the office to ask, ‘how is Cimiyun? When is he coming back?’ He is the school’s baby.”

She believes everyone will share in his triumph when he gets his diploma.

“I expect him to get a standing ovation,” she said.

While his hopes of going to Virginia Tech have been dashed by his illness, Cimiyun, has not given up on being an engineer. He say he is looking at going to a nearby technical school.

His mother said that whatever he wants to do, his family will be right there for him.

“I am very proud of him,” she said. “He didn’t ask for this. To know that he kept go-ing. I am very proud.”

Cimiyun Benson, with his family after his May 13 pre commencement exercise. From left, his sister Tenesia, father Cimiyun and sister Sarina.

CrossRoadsNewsMay 22, 2010 B3

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should be by representing DeKalb County Schools Athletics, their schools and com-munities at a high level of competition and by achieving the heights they have in the classroom,” he said.

Jamel, a defensive lineman, compiled 61 tackles, including 16 tackles for a loss and four sacks, for the Saints last fall.

“It feels good to receive athletic and academic scholarships,” he said.

Two of the 23 will be attending Ivy League schools.Miller Grove salutatorian Terrance Moore, who played

football for the Wolverines, is taking his academic and ath-letic skills to Harvard. He tallied 10 tackles from his defensive back position.

Davynn batted .441 with 14 RBIs and two home runs for

Graduation “They are shining examples of what a student-athlete should be.”

DeKalb students make their mark in classroom, on field

Chris Grier finds a college home

By Carla Parker

Among DeKalb’s 2010 top students are 23 valedictorians and salutatorians who are both scholars and athletes.

The students, who commanded GPAs of 4.0 and above, are also basketball, football and softball players; golfers; swimmers; runners; and tennis players.

Most of them are headed to college this fall with academic scholarships or a combination of academic and athletic scholarships and big plans to excel on the field and in the lecture rooms of some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities.

The total in scholarships they com-mand was not known at press time, but DeKalb School System officials, who were still tallying the total, expect it to reach into the millions of dollars. In 2009, the DeKalb scholar-athletes got $9.6 million in scholarships.

Cedar Grove’s valedictorian Jamel Dobbs got full scholarships to the U.S. Naval Academy. Davynn Brown, the Southwest DeKalb valedic-torian, played softball and is going to Yale University on a nearly full academic scholarship.

Together the group is splitting asunder the old stereo-types about jocks and scholars, spending as much time on the ball field as they do on the books.

The 2010 class outdid last year’s class, which had 21 scholar-athletes. This year’s group hails from 14 high schools countywide. Seven of them, including five vale-dictorians, participated in two or more sports during the academic year. Cross country, track and tennis led the sports they played, followed by softball, football, golf and basketball.

Ron Sebree, the school system’s athletics director, said the group stands out.

“They are shining examples of what a student-athlete

2010 ValedictoriansSchool Student Sport(s)Avondale Kasahu Neselu cross country/trackCedar Grove Jamel Dobbs footballChamblee Magnet Zinan Zhang swimmingCross Keys Carlton Washington football/trackDruid Hills Diem-Anh Vo tennisDunwoody Seth Inman cross country/trackLakeside Lauren Boden softball/basketball/golfRedan Tolulope Teniola trackSW DeKalb (Magnet) Davynn Brown softballSW DeKalb (Resident) Amina Avril trackTowers Zintiesha McKenzie cheerleading/tennis 2010 SalutatoriansSchool StudentSport(s)Cedar Grove Maria Saddler tennisChamblee Magnet Nazar Bilukha tennis Jintae Alex Seoh cross countryClarkston Teresa Nguyen tennisCross Keys Tay Mai baseballDruid Hills Hannah Wichmann cross countryDunwoody Graham Goldberg cross countryLakeside Allison Boden softball/basketball/golf Stephanie Boden softball/basketball/golfLithonia Caroline Bailey volleyballMiller Grove Terrance Moore footballSW DeKalb (Resident) Brandon Martin baseball

Scholar-athletes

Davynn Brown (left), the 2010 Southwest DeKalb High School (Magnet) valedictorian, poses with members of her team after a game.

Terrance Moore

the Lady Panthers.At Lakeside, triplets Lauren, Stephanie and Allison

Boden topped their class academically as valedictorian and co-salutatorians while excelling in softball, basketball and golf. The trio led the Lakeside Lady Viking golf team to the state tournament two consecutive years while winning the DeKalb County Championship at the same time.

Avondale’s valedictorian, Kasahu Neselu, is going to Morehouse College with academic and track scholarships. Athletes also swept the top honors at Chamblee Magnet School, Cross Keys, Druid Hills and Dunwoody.

Columbia High School’s Chris Grier, will be suiting up to play for Charleston Southern Univer-sity men’s basketball team next fall.

The 6 - foot , 3-inch guard helped his school finish with a 28-5 record. All five losses came from USA Today Top 25 teams at various tournaments.

He is First All-Region player and McDonald’s Al l- American Nominee, and is also rated a 3-star recruit by Rivals.com.

Phil McCray, the school’s men’s bas-ketball coach, believe he’s ready for the next level.

“His passion for the game and work ethic will be an asset to any program in the locker room and on the court.” “McCray said. “He

is a leader and win-ner in every aspect of the word.”

In his senior year, Chris averaged 15 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds per game but CSU’s coach Barclay Radebaugh see his full potential playing under his program.

“Chris is a highly recruited wing that can play multiple po-sitions,” Radebaugh said. “Chris is a long and rangy athlete

who has wonderful basketball skills.” With Columbia finishing with a #23 in

the USA Today’s Hoops poll, Radebaugh knows he’s capable of bringing the winning tradition to CSU.

“Chris comes from one of the elite high school program in our country and knows how to win,” Radebaugh said.

Columbia High School’s Chris Grier is ready to play some college ball.


B5Graduation “She said if I didn’t get any scholarships I was going to have to pay for my own education.”

Students garner millions in scholarships to help pay for collegeJamel Dobbs and his mother Jacquelyn Arnold join Cedar Grove head counselor Hycine Robinson on stage during the school’s Senior Assembly. Jamel was recognized for getting nearly a million dollars in scholarship offers.

By Carla Parker

The scholarship hunt at DeKalb Schools has yielded million of dollars in scholar-ships for the 2010 graduating class.

From information available this week, Redan High School in Stone Mountain was leading the pack with $5.5 million in scholarship offers to its senior class.

Redan was followed by Columbia High in Decatur and Stephenson High in Stone Mountain, who have talled $3 million so far.

Cedar Grove High in Ellenwood school had offers of just over $2 million, followed by

Avondale High with scholarship offers at $1,373,406.

Cedar Grove was the only school that had a break down of the scholarship offers to the graduating class available at press time.

Through Monday, 17 members of its class had tallied $2,016,432 in athletic and academic scholarships. The awards range from $400 to $950,100 offered to class valedictorian Jamel Dobbs.

Cedar Grove Head Counselor Hycine Robinson is impressed by Dobbs’ haul.

“I call him the million dollar man,” she said this week.

Dobbs, who is going to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD on full aca-demic and athletic scholarships, is estatic.

“It made me realize that hard works pays off,” said Dobbs who bettered the $901,300 in scholarships awarded to 2009 valedictorian Dennisa Thomas.

Dobbs gets $450,000 from the academy to play football. He was also offered schol-arships from Jacksonville State, $52,000; Savannah State, $52,000; Western Carolina,

$60,000; University of Maryland, $130,000; and Tulane, $200,000. He was also awarded the AKA Scholarship, $500; Delta Scholar-ship, $400; Sports Champion, $500; and Dooley Award, $5,000.

Dobbs said his mother, Jacquelyn Ar-nold, motivated him to do well in school so he could earn scholarships.

“She said if I didn’t get any scholarships I was going to have to pay for my educa-tion,” he said,

Parris Scott, who was recognized for 12 years of perfect attendance, raked in $34,600

in scholarship offers. She received $1,100 from the 11 Alive Jr. League, $500 from the Cedar Grove PTSA; Horatio Alger Schol-arship, $5,000; Voorhees College Upward Bound Scholar, $4,400; Amvets Fast Web, $8,000; Book Scholarship, $1,000; and the Carol Migner Scholarship, $500.

The other 15 students to total of $287,602; Demario Dixon, who received $128,000 in a full ride scholarship to Morehouse College; Willie Favors, a full ride to Wofford College worth $162,230; Erica Flanigan, $4,300 total in scholarships;

Timothy Goolsby, Ray Hill, and Chelsea Johnson who each received $8,000 from Benedict College; Nicole Howard, $8,000 from Tuskegee University; Chelsey Jenkins and Daria Johnson each received $83,000 from Agnes Scott College; Ariel Leonard, $28,000 from Maryville College; Shevika Mitchell, a total of $99,000 in scholarship offers; Maria Saddler, a total of $66,900 in scholarships; Amber Stephens, a total of $41,400 in scholarships; and Brittany Sims, who received $16,000 from the Ronald Si-mon Scholarship.

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Coming to the Mall at Stonecrest August 14th, 2010

Reserve your space now Call 404-284-1888


B6 Graduation “It changed my life and I knew I wanted to help people who have the same problem that I had.”

Lakeside High School valedictorian Lauren Boden is flanked by her sisters and co-salutatorians, Allison (at left) and Stephanie, during the procession into their school’s May 16 Pre-Commencement program. The triplets are believed to be the first siblings to top a DeKalb County graduating class. They plan to attend the same college in Southern California.

Triplets dominate top of the class at Lakeside

The 2010 ValedictoriansMore than 5,992 DeKalb Schools seniors will be receiving their diplomas this weekend at graduation

ceremonies in stadiums, churches, hotels and college auditorium. On the next four pages we feature the valedictorians of the 2010 class. These are the top students at each of their schools. They rose to the top

Avondale Cedar Grove

Jamel Dobbs paid no attention to the stereotypes of high school athletes.

“My goal was to prove that athletes are more than just jocks,” he said.

So the football star excelled in both the classroom and the arena.

The defensive end and defensive tackle nailed a 4.17 GPA to become valedictorian and received athletic and academic scholarships from the U.S. Naval Academy. He chose the academy because it gave him an offer he could not refuse. “They will pay for medical school and my malpractice insurance,” the future orthopedic surgeon said.

Jamel also received a Sport Champi-ons Award and a Dooley Award.

– Carla Parker

Kasahu Neselu worked hard to get to the top of the class at Avondale High.

His 4.0 GPA earned him a place among the 2010 valedictorians.

“I felt like I deserved it,” said Ka-sahu, who is headed to Morehouse Col-lege in Atlanta this fall on academic and track scholarships. “It feels good to be accepted into a prestigious institute.”

Kasahu, who runs track and cross country, said he had been working hard at track since the 9th grade. He said he had a choice between Georgia Tech and Morehouse. “Both schools are great schools, but I like Morehouse better.”

Kasahu, an ROTC cadet, the highest ranked, plans to major in civil engineer-ing.

– Carla Parker

Columbia (Magnet) Columbia (Resident)

Jessica Turner has wanted to go to Spelman College since she visited the campus when she was 11 years old.

This fall, she will enroll at the Atlanta school.

Jessica nabbed the 2010 valedic-torian spot at Columbia High School’s Magnet Program with a 4.089.

“I like all the tradition at the school and the networking opportunities,” said Jessica, who also fell in love with Spelman’s campus.

Jessica, who is a member of Colum-bia’s track and field team, said she will major in psychology in hopes of becom-ing a school psychologist.

– Carla Parker

Shantae Gorman was treated by a dermatologist for a 6-year acne prob-lem, and since then, she has been a fan of the profession.

“It changed my life and I knew I wanted to help people who have the same problem that I had.”

Shantae, Columbia’s resident valedictorian with a 4.03 GPA, will at-tend the University of Georgia to study premed on a HOPE scholarship.

The Beta Club and National Honor Society member said she was pleased to accomplish her goal of becoming valedictorian. “It was my short-term goal when I started high school.”

– Carla Parker

Kasahu Neselu

Jessica Turner

Jamel Dobbs

Shantae Gorman

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker

At Lakeside High School, the Boden triplets – Lauren, Stephanie and Allison – rule.

The sisters topped their class as the 2010 valedictorian and co-salutatorians and have been garnering their share of attention for the uniqueness of their accomplishments.

Lauren, the oldest by a minute, rose to valedictorian with a 4.28 GPA. Her sisters share the salutatorian honor with 4.23 GPAs.

This of course makes their mother, Mary Boden, very proud.

“I was thrilled,” she said. “I knew they worked really hard. They were always trying to get all A’s.”

Stephanie calls their accomplishments “really exciting.”

“It’s just nice that it’s all in the family,” she said. “We are competitive and we try to stay ahead of each, which pushes us to be

successful.”Nobody in the DeKalb School System

can remember a time when triplets domi-nated the top of the class – in the same year – at the same school in the district.

Dale Davis, the school system’s spokes-man, said it hasn’t happened before in the five years he has been there.

“It’s pretty unusual,” he said. “We be-lieve it’s a first but can’t say for sure.”

Davis called the sisters’ accomplish-ments “pretty great.”

“It’s something for their family to be proud and for us all to be proud of,” he said.

In his 32 years of teaching, Joe Reed, Lakeside High’s principal, said he hasn’t heard of a similar situation.

“Four years ago, nobody would have thought it possible,” he said. “After they were here for a couple of years, we said, ‘Hey this could happen.’”

Reed called the Boden sisters delight-


B7Graduation “I want to help people in some way, whether it’s designing something for the community or something else. I want to solve problems.”

Lakeside High School valedictorian Lauren Boden is flanked by her sisters and co-salutatorians, Allison (at left) and Stephanie, during the procession into their school’s May 16 Pre-Commencement program. The triplets are believed to be the first siblings to top a DeKalb County graduating class. They plan to attend the same college in Southern California.

Triplets dominate top of the class at Lakeside

DSA

The 2010 ValedictoriansMore than 5,992 DeKalb Schools seniors will be receiving their diplomas this weekend at graduation

ceremonies in stadiums, churches, hotels and college auditorium. On the next four pages we feature the valedictorians of the 2010 class. These are the top students at each of their schools. They rose to the top

of their classes by earning the highest Grade Point Averages in their school. All of them will speak to their classmates, teachers, parents and relatives and friends during their graduation ceremonies. This fall, they will be headed to Ivy League schools, private universities and state colleges.

Clarkston

At Clarkston High, the competition for valedictorian was so stiff, Nhan Ai Ta was surprised when she made it.

“A lot of my classmates have a 4.0, so I didn’t know that I had the highest GPA.” Nhan made the cut with a 4.2 GPA, leaving her class with three co-salutatorians. The 17-year-old said she is honored to be at the top of her class.

A native of Vietnam, Nhan came to America when she was 4. She will attend Georgia State University on an Honor Scholarship and major in biology. She plans to be a pharmacist. “I think it will be interesting to learn about all the drugs and how they help your body.”

– Carla Parker

Chamblee (Magnet)

All through high school, Zinan Zhang had one dream – attending Princeton University in New Jersey.

This fall, that dream will become a reality for the Chamblee Magnet vale-dictorian. Zinan, who has a 4.41 GPA, credits his academics and participation in school activities for helping him ac-complish his goals.

“I do a lot of activities in math and science,” said Zinan, who aspires to be a surgeon. “I placed first at the Georgia State Science Fair.”

At Princeton, he plans to follow a premed track and major in molecular biology or economics.

Zinan says being valedictorian takes some getting used to. “It feels surreal.”

– Carla Parker

Chamblee (Resident)

Timbreah Mathis has been dreaming of being a doctor for as long as she can remember.

This fall she will enroll at Emory University in its medical pre-professional program to study biology. Her ultimate goal is to become a neonatologist. “I love working with children,” said Tim-breah, resident co-valedictorian.

She shares the top spot with Rebec-ca Miranda, who also had a 4.0 GPA. Timbreah says she is excited about at-tending Emory. “It’s a prestigious school and with the hospital on the campus, you have access to a lot of resources.”

Timbreah, a member of the Na-tional Honor Society, played flute in the marching band.

– Carla Parker

Nhan Ai Ta

Zinan Zhang

Shaina Fuller

Timbreah Mathis

ful.“They are involved. They are cooperative.

They have a good sense of humor. They work hard,” he said. “We are lucky.”

The sisters were actually in the running for co-valedictorians, but Calculus BC, an Advanced Placement course, derailed Stephanie and Allison’s ambitions.

Even though the sisters are competitive, their mother said they always study together and help each other with schoolwork.

Lauren said she has received straight A’s throughout her entire school career. Her sisters did too, until the calculus debacle.

“We are very close and we push each other along,” said Lauren, who admits that her siblings “call me bossy sometimes.”

The Bodens are no bookworms. The sisters were standouts in softball, basketball and golf. They were also active in the Honor Society and in the French and Latin clubs. They volunteer at Claremont Presbyterian, where they coach the youth basketball team,

and at Nicholas House and Hands on Atlan-ta. Stephanie even found time to complete a Girl Scout Gold Award.

Allison was the 2007 Golf Freshman County Champion and led her team to be-come co-champions. In 2009, she won the Region Golf Tournament individually and as part of a team. In March, she tied for first place in the 2010 State Golf Tournament.

Stephanie has the eighth-best softball batting average for the state.

The sisters are headed to Pomona Col-lege in Southern California. Their mom said they fell in the love with the small liberal arts school. “They were looking for a smaller school where they can play softball and golf and have a great academic experience,” she said.

Stephanie said they are happy to go off to the same college together.

“It will help keep us grounded. And if we need something, we can talk to each other.”

Shaina Fuller danced her way through the DeKalb School of the Arts, but she will be majoring in civil, mechanical or environmental engineering when she en-rolls at Northwestern University this fall.

“I want to help people in some way, whether it’s designing something for the community or something else,” she said. “I want to solve problems.”

Shaina, who loves math, has a 4.123 GPA and received a full scholarship from the Evanston, Ill.-based private research university.

“They’re giving me $52,000 a year. Their engineering program is good, and I am excited about going there.”

– Carla Parker


B8 Graduation “I have been working hard for it, so it feels good.”

The 2010 Valedictorians

Lithonia Martin Luther King Jr.Miller Grove

Attending an Ivy League school with a full ride scholarship was an opportu-nity that Judy Morales could not pass over.

“The prestige of a Ivy League school is big,” she said.

Judy, who is Miller Grove High School’s 2010 valedictorian, will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

The 18-year-old, who has 4.03 GPA, says she will major in architecture as an undergrad and then go on to study design in graduate school.

Judy, who was also Ms. Miller Grove, said it feels “pretty good” to be valedic-torian.

“I’ve been working hard for it, so it feels good.”

– Carla Parker

During these hard economic times, Lithonia valedictorian Joshua Chung wanted to make a smart decision when he was picking a college to attend in the fall.

“I picked the University of Georgia because I received HOPE and they are a good school for my major,” he said.

Joshua, who plans to major in pre-dentistry in hopes of becoming a dentist, nabbed the 2010 Valedictorian spot at his school with a 4.08 GPA.

He has a passion for golf. During his school career, he won numerous aca-demic and other awards including the Korean Leadership Award, Star Student, and the Gold Level award for the Work Ready Assessment Yearbook Staff.

– Carla Parker

At Wynton Jordan’s home, educa-tion was job one.

Wynton, the Martin Luther King Jr. High 2010 valedictorian, said his fa-ther, Anthony, stressed the importance of education.

“He said to be successful in life I’ll have to do my best in school, have the best grades,” he said.

Wynton did not disappoint. With a 4.05 GPA he will attend Ohio State University on a full scholarship.

Wynton, who was a member of King’s varsity basketball team, plans to major in International Business, Finance and Pre-Law. His goal is to become a entertainment manager or attorney.

– Carla Parker

Redan

StephensonSW DeKalb (Magnet)

When Tolulope Teniola delivers her valedictorian speech to the graduating class at Redan High School on May 22, she will tell her class to always remem-ber the signature moments of Redan High.

“Cherish the memories and never forget what Redan taught you,” she said.

The future pediatric oncologist rose to the top of her class with a 4.16 GPA.

Tolulope was accepted by seven uni-versities but will attend the University of Georgia in the fall to study biology and pre-med.

“UGA has everything I’ve been look-ing for in a school,” she said. “And I like their football team.”

– Carla Parker

India Kimbro knows that hard work pays off. That’s how she became the 2010 valedictorian at Stephenson High School.

She said she worked hard in the class room, kept many late nights and got help from her mother, Jacqueline, with her homework.

She and her a 4.12 GPA will be en-rolling at the University of Georgia this fall to major in Biology.

“I plan on going to graduated school after I receive my bachelors and major in physical therapy,” she said.

The Georgia Merit Scholar life’s goal is to pursue a career in sports medicine.

India is also co-captain of her school’s Dazzling Diamonds dance team.

– Carla Parker

When Davynn Brown got her ac-ceptance letter from Yale University, it fulfilled a lifelong dream.

The Southwest DeKalb magnet Vale-dictorian said the New Haven, Conn., ivy league school “is a really really good school.”

“I want to be a judge some day and their law school is the best,” she said

When her acceptance letter arrived, she cried – with joy, of course.

Ever since, she has bee on “cloud 2010.”

Yale gave her $45,000 of the $50,000 she needs to attend the col-lege. lass with a 4.16 GPA.

Her mother Alice Swift Brown is happy.

“I am very proud of her,” she said. – Jennifer Parker

Ronald McNair Sr. SW DeKalb (Resident)

McNair High School valedictorian Nandi Geiger knows a blessing when she sees one and becoming class vale-dictorian definitely counts for her.

“It’s a blessing,” she said. “It’s an honor to be valedictorian.”

The 17-year-old became her school’s top student with a 3.865 GPA. This fall, she will attend Texas Southern University where she plans to major in chemistry with a minor in film.

“Helping people is my passion,” she said.

Nandi also wants to get a pilot’s license to can fly around the world with ‘Doctors Without Borders’ and film her own documentaries.

Nandi, a National Merit Scholar recipient, has received $60,000 in scholarships – Carla Parker

At Southwest DeKalb High School Amina Avril is known for her athletic prowess.

What most people didn’t know, was that she is pretty smart too.

She showed them just how much when her 4.15 GPA earned her class Valedictorian for the resident population at the school.

“Now my school knows,” she said.She also scored 1930 on the SAT

college admission test. Amina, who has the number one Discus throw for the Georgia, is the 2010 Region Champion for Discus and Shot Put.

To suceed at both, she had to keep her priorities straight. Amina is headed to Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. with a $48,000 scholarship.

– Jennifer Parker

Judy Morales Tolulope Teniola

India KimbroDavynn Brown

Joshua Chung Wynton Jordan

Nandi Geiger Amina Avril


B9Graduation “I feel very honored.”

The 2010 Valedictorians

Towers

When she first entered high school, Zintiesha McKenzie has one goal – be-come class valedictorian.

And she did it with a 4.15 GPA.“I’ve been working hard for it since

freshman year and it feels great to ac-complish that goal,” she said.

Zintiesha will attend the University of Georgia in fall and major in animal science.

“I always wanted to be a veterinar-ian,” she said. “I love animals.”

Her life’s goal is to open up her own veterinarian practice.

Zintiesha, who was named Towers’ Female Athlete of the Year, participated in cheerleading, tennis and swimming.

– Carla Parker

Stone Mountain Tucker

Rising to the top of her class made Stone Mountain valedictorian Kim Ba both “proud and happy.”

She nabbed the title with a 4.08 GPA and is headed to Mercer University in Macon to study biology.

“I want to be a pharmacist,” she said.

Kim, who is a Gates Millennium Scholar, said she will tell her fellow classmates to reminisce on all the fun activities they did while in high school when she gives her valedictorian speech.

“I will also tell them to thank the teachers and remember what we’ve learned in high school.”

– Carla Parker

Mariam Arshad has held on to a 4.0 GPA since she set foot in Tucker High School.

So it was no surprise when she claimed the title of class valedictorian with a 4.28 GPA.

This fall, she is headed to Georgia Tech, and says it is a very good feel-ing to be at the top of her graduating class.

“I feel very honored,” she said. Mariam was very active in school

with memberships in the Beta Club, the National Honor Society, the Math Club and the Future Engineers at Tucker.

– Carla Parker

Zintiesha McKenzieKim Ba Mariam Arshad

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B10

By Carla Parker

On May 13, Jhacobe Campbell should have been receiving honors for his academ-ic achievements in front of his classmates at the Towers High School Seniors Honors

Night. But instead, class-

mates, teachers, coach-es and family members were paying tribute to the late high school senior, who drowned May 8 in a Jackson County lake while on a fishing trip with

friends.The sudden death of Jhacobe, an honor

student and a Titans cornerback, stunned the Towers family.

There were few dry eyes in the audi-ence as classmates, teachers and coaches watched a video tribute to the 19-year-old senior whose bright future was cut short so suddenly two weeks before graduation.

Jonathan Sanks, Towers’ former foot-ball coach, said Jhacobe had just signed a scholarship to play football at the Univer-sity of West Alabama.

“He was a great player, a 3.0 GPA kid, who excelled in the classroom, on the foot-ball field and in life,” he said. “He would compete to the highest level.”

Graduation “He was a great player, a 3.0 GPA kid, who excelled in the classroom, on the football field and in life.”

Towers pays tribute to late senior football player

Sanks said Jhacobe was a team leader.“Although he was 5 feet 8 and 160

pounds, he was the biggest man on the field because he had a big heart,” he said. “He was the heart and soul of our team.Jhacobe played with passion and he had so much swag.”

Jhacobe was a popular guy and loved by all his classmates.

Zintiesha McKenzie, class valedicto-rian, called him a wonderful person. The two were in the same AP British literature class.

“He was always playful and joked around,” she said. “If you were sad he would always find a way to make you happy.”

Jhacobe had just proposed to his girl-friend, a fellow senior, on prom night. The couple had a son, 8-month-old Jhacobe Jr., and were planning to move to West Alabama.

“He was a great father and he loved his fiancée,” Sanks said.

Jhacobe was buried May 14 in his hometown of Folkston, Georgia, where he was a part of Charlton County’s 2006 Class AA championship team.

During the tribute, Sanks and the school’s coaching staff retired Jhacobe’s football number.

“No other player will wear this No. 24 jersey again,” he said.

Towers’ former football coach Jonathan Sanks and Corey Harris hold the football jersey of Titans cornerback Jhacobe Campbell, who drowned May 8. His football number has been retired.

Cedar Grove graduate Parris Scott picks up her award for 12 years of perfect attendance from head counselor Hycine Robinson during their May 14 Senior Assembly.

Jhacobe Campbell

Student activist motivated to attend school every dayBy Carla Parker

Parris Scott has never missed a day of school in 12 years.

“Rain, sleet, snow, tornado; no matter what, her mother made sure she made it to school,” Hycine Robinson, Cedar Grove’s head counselor, told her surprised class-mates during the May 14 Cedar Grove High School Senior Assembly.

When Parris ascended the podium for the 12-year perfect attendance record, her class erupted in applause.

Parris said she never missed a day of school because she “don’t like to do makeup work.”

“If you miss school you still have to do the work later, so I just go to school and do the work there.”

She never allowed a mere cold or a runny nose to stop her. She just packed extra tissue.

Angie Johnson, her mother, said Parris coped well with minor obstacles.

“She got sick one time, but it wasn’t seri-ous,” she said.

Last semester, she did have a little scare when she developed a cough and fever dur-ing class.

“The school thought I had the swine flu, so they put me in an isolated room,” she said with a laugh.

Luckily the incident happened on a Friday; she was fine by Monday and back in class.

Her mother would scheduled Parris’ doctor appointments after school so she would not miss any class assignments.

This fall, Parris will attend Georgia Gwinnett College where she plans to major in psychology.

“I like helping people,” she said. “I want to give advice and I believe I can give good advice.”

Parris already has a reputation for help-ing people. After finding out that some stu-dents couldn’t pay senior fees, she sought out sponsors from the local business com-

munity and raised more than $900 to help them pay their fees and participate in all the graduation activities.

For her generosity, she won the 2010 11-Alive Kids Who Care Award from a field of 500. “It was a great experience,” she said.

Parris’ little brother, Qortne Teagle, is following in her footsteps. The Cedar Grove Elementary student already has a five-year perfect attendance record.

“Hopefully he can make it to 12 years like his sister,” Johnson said.


B11Destiny Academy’s graduates pose for a class picture before their May 16 graduation.

Graduation “Because we know from whence they came, to see them on the high side and going forward, we were elated.”

Chick-fil-A’s Tony Royal doling out $3,000 in Partner scholarships

SWD students are first PTSA scholars

Four Southwest DeKalb seniors are headed to college this fall with an extra $500 each.

The students – Hillary Jackson, Enoch McKie, Breonna Day and Keon Mitchell – received the first Southwest DeKalb PTSA Scholar-ships at the group’s May 11 general body meeting at the school.

Eighteen students applied for the scholarships and James Waddel, the PTSA’s scholarship committee chair-man, said any one of them would have been worthy recipients.

“It was a difficult choice,” he said. “The winners were all so well rounded, all were driven, sensa-tional and well deserving of the scholarship.”

Students can use their scholar-ship to help offset expenses while in college. The PTSA plans to make the awards annual.

Qualified applicants had to attend Southwest DeKalb for two years and be paid up members of the PTSA.

Waddel said the applicants maintain a balance between aca-demics and extra curricula activi-ties. He said many of the students had part time jobs.

“How they pull this off with-in 24 hours and still maintain the grades, I will never understand,” he said. “It is phenomenal.”

Hillary will attend Savannah State this fall. Breonna is headed to Agnes Scott College, Keon is going to North Carolina A&T, and Enoch will go to Georgia Tech.

Destiny Academy grads double last years class

Breonna Day

Hillary Jackson

Enoch McKie

Keon Mitchell

By Tom Terry III

Destiny Academy of Excellence, DeKalb’s only non-tradtional school for at-risk teens, nearly doubled its graduating class in a year.

On May 16, the Ellenwood school handed out diplomas to 27 graduates, up from 15 last year.

Byron Johnson, the school’s parent liaison/counselor, said the 14 males and 13 females overcame a lot of adversities to walk across that stage to receive their diplomas and shake hands with school board member Jay Cunningham.

More than 500 family members, relatives, friends and supporters packed the chapel at New Birth to witness the momentous occasion.

The graduates who ranged in age

It’s graduation season and that’s Chick-fil-A operator Tony Royal’s cue to start dishing out $3,000 in Partners in Service scholarships to six area graduating seniors.

The students – Chris-topher Downing of New Birth Academy; Margaret W. Karanja of Luther Rice Seminary; Alycia Moor-man of Beulah Heights University; Alison Sand-erson of Berean Christian Academy; Rhonda Starling of Martin Luther King Jr. High; and Christine St. Jean of Ste-phenson High – each receive $500 scholar-ships towards their education.

Royal operates two Chick-fil-A stores, on Turner HiIl Road in Lithonia and at the Gallery at South DeKalb in Decatur. He awards the scholarships on behalf of both of his stores.

The six high school and college students

won the Chick-fil-A contest at Turner Hill Road and South DeKalb Mall Partners in Service Scholarships for their consistent demonstration of kindness.

Royal has awarded 40 Partners in Service Scholarships since 2006.

Downing is headed to Albany State University, Starling is going to Clark Atlanta University, and St. Jean will attend Georgia Tech.

Royal looks for students who are commu-nity-minded for his scholarships.

“It is important to serve others well by being kind, considerate and helpful to ev-eryone we meet,” he said. “Chick-fil-A strives to encourage kindness in the communities we serve and believe the Partners in Service Scholarships are a valuable investment to-ward this goal.”

Scholarship recipients are picked by their principals or administrators. They must be accepted by a two- or four-year college, and must write a 250- to 500-word essay on the

Tony Royal

importance of serving other students, teachers and staff by being kind, consider-ate and helpful.

Royal also gives each scholar recipient coupons for a Chick-fil-A sandwich for every week of the next school year.

His Partners in Service scholarship program is an extension of Chick-fil-A’s Leadership Scholarship program, which provides $1,000 college scholarships to restaurant employees who exhibit superior character, leadership, work ethic and customer service.

from 16 to 21, included a teen father and teen mother with young children, a homeless teen who had been sleep-ing on friend’s couches, a couple of students who lost the grandfathers who supported them and almost dropped out of school, and a 21-year-old who enrolled when he was 19 and stuck it out to the end.

Johnson said that seeing them in cap and gown receiving their hard-earned diplomas was heart-warming. He said five or six are on their way to college in the fall.

“Because we know from whence they came, to see them on the high side and going forward, we were elated,” he said. “We know they are going to do great things.”

The Ellenwood non-traditional

school opened four years ago to serve students who drop out of regular school or are at risk of dropping out.

Students are referred by school counselors and the DeKalb County Juvenile Court. At Destiny Academy, they have small classes and custom-ized attention to help them improve their grades and pass the Georgia High School Test.

Ben Jakes, the academy’s executive director, said they prepare their seniors for post-secondary education.

The school is one of two charter schools in DeKalb, with 387 graduating seniors in 2010. Chamblee Non-tradi-tional High School, with 360 seniors. accounts for the bulk of the graduates. Its graduation ceremony was on May 21 at North DeKalb Stadium.


B12

Lakeside graduates on their way into Oak Grove United Methodist Church for their pre-commencement program.

Redan High School’s graduates share smiles as they await the start of their pre-commencement program.A Lithonia grads gets some help with her cap and gown before start of program.

To create a uniform picture, male and female graduates sit on different aisles during Lithonia High School May 16 Pre-Commencement Program in the school’s gymnasium at the Lithonia school.

DeKalb School for the Art graduates line up for their procession.

Some Stephenson High School graduates wait for their program to start.

Scenes from 2010 Pre-Commencement Exercises

Pre-CommenCement Photos by Jami FFrenCh-Parker, JenniFer FFrenCh-Parker, Carla Parker and newburn reynolds


Documents

CrossRoadsNews, May 22, 2010 - Section B