Student Spotlight of the Week (3/4/13)

Name: Divine Butts

Grade: 12th Grade

School: Jackson High 

Divine is looking forward to high school graduation in the spring and attending Syracuse University with a full scholarship in the fall. As a student at Maynard Jackson, she is an active member of the National Honors Society, National Beta Club, Posse Scholar, head captain of the Varsity volleyball team, and more. Divine was a student intern at the College Bound Center, where she helped seniors prepare for the SAT and ACT, search for scholarships, and apply to colleges. She is also active in chorus through the Festival Choir as well as the APS Honors chorus, and participates in competitions.

She is dual enrolled in Atlanta Technical College and has earned 12 credit hours this year. She is learning the basics behind infrastructure and troubleshooting computers. She is passionate about technology and is planning to major in Computer Science and Engineering in college. She’s always loved video games and wants to help others in her career. In the future, she plans to dedicate herself in encouraging women to pursue STEM fields, because they are predominately men. Her interests are inspired by her mother who is an electrical engineer. “I was exposed to the field at an early age and always had technology around me,” Divine says. “I grew up playing video games rather than Barbie dolls.”

Divine’s hobbies include anime, graphic design, and animation. She worked with the media and broadcasting team at her church for 6 years. She performed administrative duties including monthly reports, managing equipment, sales, and more.

Divine has a younger 16 year-old sister and a 9 year-old brother. They have always been a priority in her life while they circulated around the family growing up. “We’ve come a long way and looking back, I feel really relieved and I’m so glad that I’m graduating,” Divine says. “I taught myself not to be negative, but there is a lot more work to be done. I’m so excited to go to NYC in the fall.”

As a successful student with a bright future, Divine sets a positive example to her peers. She encourages them to be optimistic, and to challenge themselves. “If I were to give advice to someone, I would say to start strong from the beginning,” Divine says. “Don’t be afraid to try because you never know what will happen.”

Name: Naija Dubose

Grade: Kindergarten

School: Adamsville Primary

Naija Dubose is an exemplary Kindergarten student in Ms. Bivings’s class at Adamsville Primary Elementary School. She excels academically in all content areas, in addition to possesing a warm and nurturing spirit. She displays honorable character traits among her peers in her classroom and around the school.

Even when Naija is enjoying her free time outside of school, she is still dedicated to furthering her reading and learning. She is an avid reader and she seeks opportunties to further her knowledge and learn new things on a daily basis.

Thougn Naija has just begun her academic tenure, she already has big dreams and goals for the future. Naija has expressed her interest in the field of health and fitness. When she grows up she hopes to become a farmer and a teacher who educates people on how to eat healthy, while also sharing her love for reading with her students. Adamsville Primary congratulates Naija on being a star student!

Name: Cordell Cade

Grade: 8th Grade

School: Price Middle School

Cordell was bored one day and instead of playing video games or watching more TV he decided to write poetry about violence.  He believes that writing poetry will help show the need to help others and that if everyone helps it will get better and then violence in the world will be reduced.

Cordell believes that writing poetry has made a difference in his life.  He has made a change in friends and he is focusing on being consistent with his behavior. Poetry helps because “It is best to get it out.  It doesn’t help to keep it in.”  He has a new focus in his life.  His favorite subject is Math and boasts that he really likes Ms. Beverly his Language Arts teacher because he “likes the way she teaches, when she teaches I get it.”  His New Year’s resolution is “to make all school subjects his favorite and to make my low grades as high as my favorite subject.”

Cordell showcased his poetry at the CF Youth Development Group Poetry Reading on February 16^th.  This event was sponsored by the Youth Arts Festival.

While his future plans include Carver High School, then to the University of Kentucky to play basketball and then on to medical school just like his role model, Dr. Benjamin Carson, Cordell feels that poetry will always be a part of his life.

written by Tammy Rosado, Media Specialist at Price Middle School

Name:  Derrianna Jones

Grade: 7th

School: Harper-Archer Middle School

Most travelers are accustomed to seeing occasional signs of litter, potholes, tree limbs or other obstructions in the road as they journey to their destinations.   And as a traveler on the road to success, Derrianna Jones has had to clear a number of obstacles from her path.  The seventh-grader admits that her while she loved elementary school, her sixth-grade year was tough.  She found herself routinely distracted by the drama the follows most adolescent girls, and her response to it usually invited more drama. It seemed as if she was trapped in wild middle school soap opera.  As a result, she began regarding school as a very unpleasant place to be.

But Derrianna says she never gives up.  And she says, “Thanks to her family’s encouragement, she has developed a strong sense of optimism and perseverance.  As a result, this year she can boast that she is an honor roll student, and last month she was selected as Student of the Month.  The staff at Harper-Archer instantly noticed her polite demeanor and leadership qualities.  And moreover, as a peer advocate, the time Derrianna devotes to befriending and assisting her disabled peers has made it clear that she has a genuine heart for helping others.

In addition to all of this, Derrianna has found time to serve as captain of her cheerleading team, play softball, run track, and create her own library of rap lyrics.  Derrianna enjoys rapping and performing so much, she says when she finishes school, if she cannot become a teacher, specifically a third-grade teacher, she plans to rap professionally. And those who have witnessed her in action agree that she is a very talented entertainer.

Derrianna has already learned that the journey to excellence requires perseverance, discipline and focus. She understands the importance of staying optimistic while sweeping aside debris and other distractions that can suddenly appear in the road.  And Derrianna is gassed up, excited and determined to keep things moving forward as she travels along her road to success.