The St. Thomas Aquinas athletic program already in the national spotlight in football and several other sports, was named the nation’s top athletic program for the 2010-11 high school season by MaxPreps on Friday. Jesuit High in Portland, Ore., was second behind St. Thomas
It was a well earned honor as the Raiders won national titles in football, girls soccer and just recently the boys track team, which was named the nation’s top team this week in the final ESPN RISE Fab50 rankings.
The Raiders also had strong seasons in other sports, finishing eighth in the state in boys cross country, sixth in girls cross country, third in boys golf, 11th in girls golf, fifth in girls swimming, seventh in boys swimming, 14th in wrestling and fourth in girls track. The Raiders also reached the state quarterfinals in girls volleyball and boys lacrosse.
Recently nine bold students from the Urban League of Rochesters Project Ready met with Secretary Duncan to fulfill a challenge issued to them in January at the Voices in Action National Youth Summit at Howard University. At the summit, students were asked to return to their schools and formulate a plan to increase college preparedness in their communities. On June 17, the students from New York returned to Washingtonwith their program counselors and one parent in towto present their work to the Secretary and talk with him about challenges their community faces raising college completion rates. The students developed a presentation that outlined barriers to increasing high school graduation in their community and recommended support systems and solutions for educational leaders to consider, including extending the school day, raising expectations of the community, and requiring students to wear uniforms. They also discussed their participation in Project Readys After School Academy, which serves students in 7th-12th grades and which they credit for helping them to succeed in high school. Here is an excerpt from 16-year-old Pamineo Richardss reaction to the visit.
I understood the importance of the event. This was a chance that not many students have, and I felt that if I took advantage of it, I was making a difference for those who often go unheard.
At first I was nervous; being in a room with people who you know have great power is never easy. I sat not too far from a man who oversees our educational system and has an impact on it. To be sharing my ideas with him hadnt seemed real.
The people of the Department were very down to earth. I realized they were much like us, and we could joke around and have fun while still accomplishing what was on the agenda.
Never before had I been so engaged in a conversation that actually pertained to solving problems teens like me face. The conversation was so productive, and it was surprising to see that our ideas were actually in sync with those of the people in the room.
What really stuck out to me and my group was when Mr. Duncan informed us that less than 2 percent of African-American males are teachers. That really hit me because our program predominantly serves black males, and some of the young men in the room want to one day pursue a teaching career so that they can make a difference with future generations.
This opportunity better helped me understand how the publics perspective of our educational system can be so misguided. The people at the Department are really trying to change the way things are. We just need to give them the chance.
Pamineo Richards
Pamineo Richards is a junior at Bishop Kearney High School High School in Rochester, N.Y. He plans to attend Rochester Institute of Technology and pursue a career as a software engineer. His involvement with the Urban Leagues Project Ready program has prepared him for college through mentoring, tutoring, and guidance. This summer Pamineo and students in the program will be working with the Urban League to write college application essays in preparation for their senior year.
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Anna C. Dominguez has been selected for membership in the National Society of High School Scholars. The organization recognizes top scholars and invites only those students who have achieved academic excellence. Membership in the organization entitles qualified students to enjoy a variety of benefits, including scholarship opportunities, academic competitions, programs offered by educational partners and online forums.
FRANKENLUST TOWNSHIP Delta College’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved extending one-time bonus payments to the college’s facilities and food service employee groups. The board earlier this month approved said bonuses one-time payments equivalent to 1 percent of an employee’s annualized earnings forfaculty, adjunct instructors, corporate services and administrative, professional and support staff, as well as part-timers. The only trustee to oppose Tuesday’s approval was Trustee Kim A. Higgs, who voted in favor of the original bonuses just weeks ago. Delta’s facilities and food service employees were not part of the original bonus earlier this month due to their contracts. Check back with MLive.com later for comment from Board Chairman Robert Emrich and Higgs.
With the release of Cars 2, we decided to take a look at the man behind the wheel of one of the biggest franchises in Disney history. Animator-writer-producer-director John Lasseter, the movie’s director and chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, is well-known as a pioneer in developing the art and science of computer-generated animation. If you’re seeking career inspiration, look no further than the incredible life (yes, he was also the executive producer of The Incredibles) of John Lasseter. Start with his on-screen advice below, and read on for other career lessons weve adapted based on his story:
Career Lesson #1: Create your own opportunities. When Lasseter discovered that there are people who actually get paid to make cartoons, he didn’t leave his animation aspirations stuck in the pages of his personal journal, or even in those “What do you want to be when you grow up?” essays you have to write for school. In high school, Lasseter actually wrote to Disney Studios, saying he wanted to be an animator. And Disney wrote back! They encouraged him to get a great art education, learning the basics of figure drawing, design, and color.
Career Lesson #2: Don’t be afraid to explore new educational avenues. It gets better. In his senior year of high school, Lasseter got another letter from Disney, this time saying they were starting a character animation program at California Institute of the Arts. It was a new, untested program – going to his mom’s alma mater, Pepperdine University, would have been a safer bet – but Lasseter took a chance, got himself a scholarship, and enrolled in the inaugural year of the program. He learned from the Disney greats and earned his B.F.A. in film in 1979.
Career Lesson #3: Forge your own path. When Lasseter graduated and got a job with Disney, he discovered a sad truth – at that time, the animation studio was not being run by great artists and visionaries like the ones who taught the Cal Arts program, but by lesser artists and businesspeople. He could have just kept his head down and maintained the status quo – how many of us do that? – but instead, he became increasingly enamored with the possibilities of using computer graphics in animation. Unfortunately, Lasseter’s enthusiasm for this fairly new technology earned him a reputation as something of a loose cannon at Disney, and he got fired.
Career Lesson #4: Keep your dream alive. Getting fired might sound like a death sentence, but we all know that wasn’t the end of the story for John Lasseter. His next gig – at Lucasfilm, which later became Pixar, which was later bought by Disney – wasn’t far behind. After he got fired, Lasseter went to a computer graphics conference, met up with some contacts he had made at Lucasfilm, and got himself a job that same day. Notice that he didn’t sit around waiting for an offer to come to him – he went out and made it happen! He believed in the possibilities of a new technology and found some other people who believed in it, too.
Career Lesson #5: Be true to yourself. At 54 years old, Lasseter claims he is still a little boy, and making animated movies is a great way to let that little boy out. Obviously, this is a job where thinking like a grown-up is not always the best thing. But even if you don’t have aspirations in the cartoon world, your childhood interests can still serve as inspiration for your present-day career. Just look at how Lasseter, the son of a manager at a Chevrolet dealership, used his lifelong love of cars!
When John Lasseter gave a commencement address at Pepperdine University in 2009, he encouraged the graduating class never to let anyone kill their dreams. Coming from the man behind the Disney/Pixar magic, that’s good advice.
FRANKENLUST TOWNSHIP Delta College’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday approved extending one-time bonus payments to the college’s facilities and food service employee groups.
With the release of Cars 2, we decided to take a look at the man behind the wheel of one of the biggest franchises in Disney history. Animator-writer-producer-director John Lasseter, the movie’s director and chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, is well-known as a pioneer in developing the art and science of computer-generated animation. If you’re seeking career inspiration, look no further than the incredible life (yes, he was also the executive producer of The Incredibles) of John Lasseter. Start with his on-screen advice below, and read on for other career lessons weve adapted based on his story: