Therrell High School of Health Sciences and Research

Name: Cameron Jones

Grade: 11th Grade

School: Therrell School of Health Sciences and Research

Cameron Jones, a Junior at Therrell School of Health Sciences and Research,  is a scholar with infinite talents and skills.  Her excellent leadership and educational achievements are commendable.  According to her teachers, Cameron is a young lady of outstanding character– disciplined, hardworking, trustworthy, loyal, and responsible.

She sets high standards for herself and worthy long-term goals, and she works steadily and relentless to maintain or meet them.  This is evident in her proudest accomplishments as President of the Junior Class, President of HOSA, and her participation in the 2013 PAGE Program with the House of Representatives, among other notable accomplishments.

Cameron is ranked in the top 3% of her class and holds various leadership and community roles as a member of the National Beta Club, National Honor Society, Student Government Association, and the Varsity Cheerleadering Squad at Therrell High School.  Cameron recently received the “I Rock” award from her church, and she actively serves with Medshare, an organization that sends medical supplies and equipment internationally.

Cameron is highly respected by her peers and her teachers for her excellence in academics and community service.  She has managed to maintain a high GPA while actively participating in various community and school-based activities.  Cameron is often regarded as the next Oprah Winfrey because of her great communications and public speaking skills, but she also has an interest in biotechnology and veterinary medicine. She aspires to attend Cornell University.

Name: Donamere White

Grade: 3rd

School: Centennial Place Elementary

Donamere is a dynamic third grader who is skilled in both Taekwondo and Jiu Jitsu martial arts. He is a junior black belt, and won several trophies from competing in tournaments. Donamere has been practicing martial arts for 3.5 years, and currently trains 4 days a week. He believes martial art is a great skill to have in order to defend or protect yourself and others when necessary. He often practices with his father, who is currently teaching him another martial art called Hapkido. “I like the feeling when I earn a belt, and it’s really cool when people come and watch the tournaments,” Donamere says.

As a challenge student at Centennial Place, Donamere loves school and his favorite subject is mathematics. He has a passion for rapping, hip-hop and jazz dance, and even performed at The Wiz play at school. “My life is all about dancing,” Donamere says. “Everyday I have to dance, because it’s my life. If I can’t dance, it would be like taking my breath away from me.”

Donamere is part of a creative family, and hopes to create gadgets in the future. He wants to invent gadgets that dancers can use to enhance their dance moves and performances. “I want to create gadgets that can help others, and I also want to create a teleporting machine,” he says with a smile. Donamere’s energy, creativity, and humor highlight him as a unique and talented student.

​Name: Anquita Mitchell

Grade: 11th Grade

School: Carver Early College

A middle school counselor’s tenacious efforts opened the door for junior Anquita Mitchell to attend Carver Early College in the ninth grade. Anquita is a dean’s list scholar with excellent writing skills. Her superior writing skills lead to her to earning a perfect score on the State-Wide Junior Writing Test. Having played drums since age 4, Anquita is a sought-after drummer and has been a member of as many as four bands at one time. Among them are the marching, jazz and pep bands. She is the president of Upendo JaJa, which is a character development organization for girls promoting intellect, high self-esteem and sisterhood.

Anquita has played softball, tennis, soccer and golf. She favors golf, which she currently plays, because of its relaxing qualities. Because she loves to speak and is good at writing, she has set her sail to earn an undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Georgia. This would make her a third-generation UGA student. Anquita’s aspiration is to become a national news broadcaster. With her ambition and perseverance, NBC Nightly News or CNN is clearly within her reach.

written by Linda Green-Media Specialist-Carver Early College

Name:  Jasmine Thomas

Grade: 12th

School: Frederick Douglass High School

Twelfth-grader Jasmine Thomas has endured a lot of nail-biting moments lately.  First, there was the SAT.  Next, after filling out countless college and scholarship applications, the Douglass-Astro sat on pins and needles as she waited to learn who would invite her to spend the next four years of her life at their school, and who would pay for it.  But it was the Posse Foundation that really sent Jasmine’s anxiety level soaring.  And then, at around 10:00 pm on December 11 – just two hours before her December 12^th birthday – Jasmine received a phone call from a Posse official; she had been accepted into their program and she could officially refer to herself as a Posse Scholar.

The Posse Scholar program is a distinguished program that awards select high school seniors across the country four-year scholarships to illustrious colleges and universities.  The program also provides guidance and support to those students throughout their time at the school, and the Posse Foundation boasts that it has a 90% graduation rate.   So, learning that she was now a Posse scholar was more than just good news for Jasmine:  “It was the best birthday present I’ve ever had,” she said.

Posse Scholars are selected based on academic achievement and demonstrated leadership.  Jasmine’s ability to soar in both areas clearly made her application and essay stand out.

While at Douglass, Jasmine has been in the dual enrollment program, vice-president of the student body, a Coca-Cola Scholarship, Horatio Alger Scholarship and First Intercontinental Bank Scholarship recipient, and the founder of a city-wide organization of teenagers called “Teen Expressions.”

For Jasmine, Teen Expressions brings more fulfillment and pride than anything she has ever undertaken.  The group meets at libraries around Atlanta to host writing and financial workshops for teenagers, guest motivational speakers, and talent shows and open-mic  events.

“It’s really rewarding for me to know that I’ve changed someone’s life for the better,” Jasmine says. “I’ll have members come to me and say that they improved their writing score on the SAT, or they made an ‘A’ on a writing assignment.  And I can see so much growth in some of the younger members since they first began participating – it just makes me feel good. It makes me very proud.”  Through Teen Expressions, Jasmine says she is “paying it forward.”

The science and writing enthusiast will enroll Bard College in New York this fall, but is not quite sure of her major or which career path she will pursue.

“That’s what college is about — exposing you to different fields and helping you discover where you fit in, ” she says.  “Ideally, I’d love to do something that combines science and writing.”

As Jasmine prepares to leave the nest, and embark on her journeyas a successful college student, there is one thing she can for which she can be sure: her nail-biting days are just beginning.