All ten winners will be honored at an awards banquet to be held Thursday, March 12th, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Words of Wisdom spokesperson and esteemed poet and author, Dr. Maya Angelou, will personally present each winner with their scholarship prize. There will be a student reception March 11, 2009 featuring R&B sensation Musiq Soulchild.
Max Beauvoir
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, Florida
“A new global revolution needs to blossom, and education must be at its center. This revolution will not aim at defeating Napoleon Bonaparte or any existing power. It will aim at defeating not only deficiency . . . but also the sense of accepting the status quo. . . . I believe that millions of us can thread our strengths to bring enlightenment to millions who have been victimized by misgovernment, poverty and/or misfortune. Those of us who have been fortunate enough are called upon to instill pride and a reason of being into the minds of those who feel defeated by life . . . . We lose our own humanity when we ignore the conditions that dehumanize others.”
Dalan Carter
Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia
“I felt that as a middle school student I was categorized and placed under a microscope, being that I was one of the few black students to ever attend my school. Every mistake is maximized and every achievement is swept under the rug. These low standards are an incredible burden that eleven, twelve, and thirteen year old kids cannot bear alone. . . . The Brotherhood give[s] students an escape from the pressure [and] teaches them a means to deal with the pressure. On a monthly basis I arrange for . . . community leaders to come in and speak to the students. Growing up I felt like having tangible and visible role models was all the motivation I needed. As far as
success goes, to me, ‘seeing is believing.’”
Heidi Choice
Fayetteville State University, Fayetteville, North Carolina
“My calling is to bring awareness and change to the community about our young African-American men in jail. I want to get involved not only in awareness but also in research and policy-making to hopefully one day make a difference . . . . God places a calling in a person’s heart, but following this calling sometimes requires decisions that people don’t understand. I must become more educated so that I will have a voice, and people will listen when I say, ‘We can make a difference in the lives of our African-American boys only when we ensure a healthy start in their lives in all developmental areas. This can be achieved only if all of us - the government, communities, schools, and parents - work together.’”
Maurice Culver
Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Arkansas
“I must remind myself that the dream really has just begun, and the wheel of change has just started spinning. I must remind myself I have a lot at stake, and it would be imprudent to waste time
any more. . . . As a student majoring in Early Childhood Education, I believe our schools are the perfect place to begin. . . . Not only by educating, but also by being a good role model for our children, I can furthermore build on this new spirit of change. . . . If we continue to work together, I believe the dreams of those before us, and the change that has taken place, will not have been in vain. Moreover, this new spirit of change will live on.”
Monique Kirkman Bey
Howard University, Washington, D.C.
“Today, I have been called to be the change I wish to see in the rest of the world - to do what I encourage so many others to do: achieve my goals . . . I began by appreciating myself for all that I am, including any flaws I possess and mistakes that I have made. . . . I possess an unwavering drive and determination that always has, and always will, carry me toward my goals. These things combined are my recipe for change and success . . . . So, every move I make from this day forward will be a calculated step to ensure that I get there. I will lead by example.”
Lethaniel Norton Pinckney
Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama
“A good craftsman knows his trade. Not only does he know it, he enjoys it - as does a good teacher. A teacher’s craft is learning. A teacher must love learning, unconditionally from the heart. . . . I love to learn, and I love to teach. . . . It will be a long and arduous task to repair [the state of urban education]. But I am committed to the future of young minds, adding branches to the tree of life, hope and the future. . . . I will sound the alarm of attention and bring change to the current state of urban education. I will ignite insight and enlighten the minds and hearts of my beautiful, forgotten students. I will build upon the new spirit of change.”
Justin Shaw
Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia
“Success is not based on how many people you have beaten along the way. Instead, it is based on how many people you have lent a helping hand to on your way up the mountain. . . . Change begins with our greatest hope - teaching them, encouraging them, and listening to them. The [Benjamin E.] Mays Society does just this. I may not be running for President in the next few years; however, my program acknowledges the fact that a change in how our children are educated is at hand. My campaign for change is just a step in eradicating cultural ignorance amongst our youth . . . . the thought of the Benjamin E. Mays Society for Young Scholars entices me to further explore the vitality of educating the youth of underrepresented minorities in America - they are our future. This is the change we need to see.”
Karissa Vaughn
Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia
“I can inspire someone else through my actions. They can then, in turn, inspire another person. Before too long an unrelenting, chain reaction of positive change can be realized. . . . I’ve continued to build upon my track record of change through leadership this year as my class’s Senior Class President. . . . Many of my classmates have expressed how both shocked and excited they are about how the year [is] turning out to be. Their expectations have changed. . . . I’ve grown a new appreciation for what I can accomplish and how I can positively influence others in the process. That is the benefit of change. One not only improves oneself, but the people around them are bettered as well.”
Indigo Webley
Hampton University, Hampton, Virginia
“I am a writer, so I will write. . . . If just a few people were changed by what I have to say and what other authors have said, they could bring change to a neighborhood, which could then change a community, then a city. A domino effect would occur throughout black society, and the ghetto would become the center of progress. If I could show another human being how words could take their breath away, I think I would have made a change in the world. . . . Change has enveloped our people and we, as a whole, are evolving. I am no Obama, my words do not reverberate off the walls of our Capitol and affect the people of our country all at once; I am a writer, so I will write.”
Chastity Wells
Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia
“Whether they knew it or not, our great leaders in history such as Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Dr. Martin Luther King were acting under the The Formula - Persistence + Passion + Faith = the key to change. The most compelling trait of the formula is its ability to work, despite the size of the needed change, be it a solution to a challenged economy or recycling on a college campus. Even more admirable is that in many cases the smallest initiative can induce the largest change, especially through the collaborative effort of many individuals. I am encouraged to continue to change the world one person, and one small act, at a time. I doubt that the sky is the limit to what my small acts of change can accomplish, because in my mind, there is no sky!”
