Over the past several weeks, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula hosted Scholar of the Year celebrations at three of our school sites. Each site invited finalists who had prepared personal essays to spend the evening interviewing with a Over the past several weeks, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula hosted Scholar of the Year celebrations at three of our school sites. Each site invited finalists who had prepared personal essays to spend the evening interviewing with a panel of judges and giving a speech to an audience of family members, school and staff members, and other supporters.

We heard 15 impressively introspective and evocative speeches during these events from our inspiring 8th graders. Many of these depicted personal struggles to overcome while others praised family and mentors for providing the support and encouraged needed to succeed. The maturity of the speeches left attendees each night inspired. The judges found selecting a Scholar of the Year representative for each site difficult, but they and the staff were proud of their choices: Ashley Campbell from Hoover Community School, Stephanie Smith from James Flood Magnet School, and Tania Gabriel from Belle Haven Community School.

On November 9, these finalists came together for the Scholar of the Year finals at the Moldaw-Zaffaroni Clubhouse in East Palo. Each site's representative again was interviewed by a panel of judges and presented his or her speech to an audience of supporters.

 

Ashley spoke of her family's difficult journey. She moved to the United States from her native Jamaica with her mother and siblings, leaving her father behind. Her mother now works three jobs to support her family, and Ashley counts her as one of her chief role models. When Ashley began attending the predominantly Latino Hoover Community School, she did not know any English and was teased and bullied because of her differing ethnic background. Ashley has chosen to BE A WARRIOR. She is unafraid to stand up to those who would judge her and is a leader both at home and in her school. Ashley ended her speech by saying: “All humans deserve the same respect no matter who they are.”

 

Tania spoke of her dream to graduate from college. Tania and her family moved to the United States from Guatemala when she was seven years old. Like Ashley, Tania began school without knowing any English. She shared that her mentors at school, at CNG and at home have helped her succeed and have encouraged her to continue toward her dream. Tania counts her older brother, a freshman at East Palo Alto Academy as one of her role models because he has taught her to take responsibility for your actions. Tania also shared that her CNG mentor, Liz, has taught her to take school seriously and to learn from your mistakes. Tania is excited to continue to BE A DREAMER and is thankful for the many people who have helped her reach for her dreams.

 

Stephanie began her speech with a quote by Barack Obama: “A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.” Stephanie strives to succeed at school though sometimes she does not feel that her community actively motivates her to take advantage of her education. Stephanie feels that she can BE TENACIOUS by showing the people of her community that she does value her education. She is a positive leader both at school and at home and is a determined goal setter that sees her goals through to success. Stephanie charged the audience to take it upon themselves to be more active as this is the only way that we can truly bring about change in our community.

 

Though the judges were challenged with the difficult task of choosing only one student to receive this honor, they proudly presented the 2010 Scholar of the Year to Ashley Campbell . It truly was an inspiring night as our middle school students showed their poise and maturity. We would like to express our thanks to the many judges who gave their time to honor our students.