Scholar Spotlight
Pride’s Academic Excellence Award: Racely Ortega Lora and Malick Omoro
Pride’s Academic Excellence Award is presented to the scholar with the best overall academic scores. This year, two scholars achieved the exact same grade point average and, therefore, share the honor of achieving the Academic Excellence Award.
Speech:
My name is Asgeir Ofstad, and I am the Vice Principal at Pride Academy. Tonight I have the pleasure of presenting one of the most prestigious awards of the evening, The Academic Achievement Award.
Now, to our Valedictorian. Becoming a valedictorian requires hard work, dedication, and a commitment to academic excellence. In most schools, including Pride, it means taking challenging courses and earning high grades. This translates to doing well in the classes one is interested and talented in, as well as those that are not initially one’s favorite. This means staying organized, managing time effectively, and seeking help when needed. It means making sacrifices, sometimes choosing future rewards over the in-the-moment wants. The older and grayer I get, the more I feel blessed for growing up when I did. No cell phone, no cabel or Internet, no online gaming, no instagram, twitter, or TikTok.
No distraction.
This is not the world you are growing up in. However, dear Valedictorian, you have been able to balance this. And I need you to continue to do so. High School and soon college is right around the corner. Continue to apply yourself, to do your best, and continue to make the world a better place by doing so. The world is not always as considerate as you are nor as good as we want it to be. However, this should not ever stop you from being true to yourself to the values you learned from your family, and from your extended family here at Pride.
I want to share with you all, both our Valedictorian and the greater Pride community, a poem on this topic written in 1968 by a then sophomore in college.
The poem is called Paradoxical Commandments.
People may be illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you may get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
You, and the rest of your 2023 graduating peers, are my son and daughter’s future. You will be their doctors, teachers, nurses, lawyers, carpenters, electricians, influencers, sport stars, or superheroes. . My kids will need to be your absolute bests. I am therefore thrilled that 2023 is a special year. To figure out who wins the Academic Achievement award is an easy task – It’s simple math – simple arithmetic. The student with the highest Grade Point Average across all of their subjects in their 8th-grade year is the winner. The class of 23’ is special because we have not one but two Valedictorians with identical GPA’s.
Without further adieu, the whole Pride family are very proud of you and are looking forward follow all of your future successes.
This year’s Valedictorians are Racely Ortega Lora and Malick Omoro
The Pride Scholar Award: Colissa Dover
The Pride Scholar Award is given to the scholar that most personifies the Pride Academy’s core values of Peace, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Empathy.
Speech:
Good evening, Pride Families, Teachers, Staff, Distinguished guests, and the class of 2023! Tonight, this moment in time, has been in the works from the day you stepped through the doors of Pride Academy four years ago, and some of us more recently, in the past year. It has truly been a joy to teach this class and their legacy will forever live on in our hearts and minds.
At this time, I have the honor of presenting one of our prestigious awards- The Pride Scholar Award. This award recognizes the efforts and talent of a scholar who upholds our core values consistently, works hard to achieve their goals, embodies our school mission, and has an active presence in our school community.
Next to being a parent or teacher, I think the most rewarding roles are those rooted in service to others. As we gather here today to celebrate the achievements of our exceptional scholar, it is also important to acknowledge and honor the trailblazers who have paved the way for individuals from diverse backgrounds to excel in their chosen fields. I am reminded of the African proverb, “if we stand tall it is because we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors.” Therefore, it is fitting for us to take a moment to recognize the invaluable contributions of historical Black nurses.
Throughout history, Black nurses have played an instrumental role in revolutionizing the field of healthcare. From the early pioneers like Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first African American registered nurse, to the courageous and dedicated nurses of the Civil Rights Movement who provided medical care to those in need, their impact cannot be overstated. These remarkable individuals not only broke down barriers but also challenged the status quo, forging a path for future generations to follow. Their unwavering commitment to caring for others, often in the face of discrimination and adversity, serves as a powerful inspiration to us all.
Mary Seacole was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 23 November 1805. Her father was a Scottish soldier and her mother was Jamaican. Seacole was born at a time when many Black people in the Caribbean were forced to work as slaves, but as Seacole was mixed-race, she was born a “free person”.
Seacole’s mother was a healer who used traditional Caribbean and African medicine to treat people, teaching many of these skills to her daughter. By the age of 12, Seacole was helping her mother run a boarding house in Kingston, where many of the guests were injured soldiers. She even used to practice medicine on her dolls and pets, before working alongside her mother.
In 1823, Seacole traveled first to London and later, in 1825, to the Bahamas, Haiti and Cuba, before returning to Jamaica in 1826. She became one of the first to recognize and practice modern nursing skills despite her lack of formal education, including the use of hygiene, ventilation, hydration and rest. Seacole’s mother and other Jamaican nurses were practicing the use of good hygiene almost a century before Florence Nightingale wrote about its importance.
Nurse Kande Agbere, RN, BSN: “The School Nurse.”
Nursing has always been inspiring and helping people gives her pleasure. Before becoming School Nurse, she held several Nursing positions in various hospitals. She earned her first Bachelor’s in Healthcare Administration from the University of Phoenix, and her second degree as Bachelor in Science of Nursing from Seton Hall University. She believes that with good health almost everything is achievable. She believes that when the kids have good health, they can thrive and grow strong. She came to Pride Academy because she heard so many beautiful things about the school. Now she can proudly say that she is a part of a friendly and loving environment. At Pride everyone is welcoming. She feels at home at Pride because of the love and care at Pride.
“The Singing Nurse”
She represents the embodiment of the legacy left by these historical figures. In her daily life, she continues to build upon the foundation laid by those who came before her, taking her rightful place in shaping the future of nursing and healthcare. We recognize and honor her sacrifices, dedication, and the profound impact she has had on the field of nursing. Her contributions have transformed the healthcare landscape and have paved the way for a more diverse and inclusive profession.
In her days as a student, she was meticulous and observant in all her classes. She maintained the neatest and most detailed notes, masterfully completed each science dissection, and solved some of the most challenging math problems. She possessed a compassionate and kind heart and could often be heard humming a melody of singing a song. Her faith guided her every step of the way and she was an instrument of healing for her patients, lifting their spirits and motivating them to keep fighting and believing they would get better. Outside of academics, she was deeply engaged in extracurricular activities such as African Dance, various school clubs and Dreamality, our school choir. She never lost sight of her goals and never wavered in her decision to become a nurse- it was her calling. One notable accomplishment was her early work in researching the connection between hormones and genes and DNA.
May her legacy continue to inspire generations to come, reminding us of the power of education, perseverance, and the immeasurable impact we can have on the world when we choose to answer the call and walk in purpose. Tonight, we honor Colissa Dover as our Pride Scholar recipient.
The Founders Award: Kyla Lewis
The Founders Award which we are about to present goes to the scholar that has demonstrated the greatest level of growth and change throughout their time here at Pride Academy Charter School.
Speech:
In this, our 15th Anniversary year, we remember how Jodi Wilson, Rose Mary Dumenigo, Amanda Quinn, and Fiona Thomas, with the hard work and support of Sue Becker and Robin Brower, set out to create a school that would one day transform lives. As we worked many long hours to create the plans, systems, budgets, and policies that would one day guide Pride Academy, we also dreamed of the types of students that we wanted to teach and reach in a special way. Believe it or not, YOU ARE EXACTLY WHO HOPED FOR AND WANTED at Pride Academy. Our goal was always to help children to realize their true potential and inspire growth and change. Each one of you has made our dream a reality in big ways and in small ways and for this we are truly grateful.
The Founders Award which we are about to present goes to the student that has demonstrated the greatest level of growth and change throughout their time here at Pride Academy Charter School.
`Change and growth do not come easily for anyone. We call them “growing pains” for a reason. Growth requires challenge, struggle, disappointments, and emotions. For middle schoolers, this often means A LOT of emotions. Like so many of our scholars over the years, our recipient struggled to understand why Pride is so strict or why we “make a big deal about little things,” but our most successful scholars usually experience some turning point during their four years at Pride Academy and then they realize that they don’t want to keep fighting and they just want to start winning.
Although I don’t know exactly WHEN the turning point happened for this scholar, I can tell you WHY it happened. It happened because they wanted to be better and they allowed themselves to be vulnerable enough to ask us for help.
I myself had some challenging moments with this scholar in the beginning but the conversations moved from “I hate this school” to “I’m sorry. I get angry a lot, but I want to get better.”
In nominating this scholar, Ms. Charussilapa wrote, “This student started out not making points, failing classes, disrespecting teachers and has completely improved while being here, and also while still staying true to themselves.” My immediate response was “WOW! That is 100% true, and as the kids say “PERIOD.” This scholar changed so much over the years, but she never lost her strength, her spunk, or her spirit.
This scholar has absolutely made better choices for themselves and their education. As an 8th grader, our Founders Award recipient has made their Weekly Pride Scholar Points almost every single week this year. They had no discipline issues that lead to serious consequences.
More importantly, the level of self-control they have demonstrated and the honesty and integrity they have have practiced while reflectioning about their choices have been a model for anyone to follow. Their responses to correction have been a complete turn around from the earlier years. There is no more anger, no more talking back, and no more eye-rolling. They just accepted the correction, but not in a phony way just to impress teachers. Their response is just a simple “OK” and then back to doing what they needed to do to be successful.
The other day I came across this quote that made me immediately think of our Founders Award recipient. “The best love is the one that makes you a better person, without changing you into someone other than yourself.”
I know for sure that the love and support that her family has most definitely provided her with strong values and sense of herself. Mom has high expectations for her daughter and wants her to reach her highest potential. Mom has also never waivered in her trust in Pride and has always known that we wanted the very best for her child. Ms. Garwood, we are grateful to you for entrusting us with your most precious gift and I pray that Pride Academy has lived up to your high expectations of us.
I also truly hope that the love of our Pride Academy teachers and staff have also been instrumental to her growth. As we did for all our graduates, we gave you our very BEST LOVE so that you could become the very best version of YOU, the YOU we all love and appreciate. As you go off to high school and beyond, keep growing, keep being YOU, and keep remembering that you have a Pride family that will always LOVE YOU FOR YOU.
For these reasons, and many more, I am proud to award the 2023 Pride Academy Founders Award to Kyla Lewis.