Friday, April 5, 2002
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Friday, April 5, 2002 |
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Creekside student "Beat the Odds" Seven Atlanta and Fulton County high school students who triumphed over life's hardships and excelled academically and personally have been selected as the Fulton County "Beat the Odds" class of 2002. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the "Beat the Odds" program, introduced in 1993 by the Fulton County Roundtable on Children under the guidance and leadership of District 6 Commissioner Nancy A. Boxill. The program, which salutes seven students annually, is based on an initiative by the Washington, D.C.-based Children's Defense Fund. The Fulton County Board of Commissioners will honor the students with a corporate sponsor luncheon, and a day-long shopping spree for classy evening clothes to be worn to the culminating event an Academy-awards-style banquet Tuesday, April 16. They will receive scholarships, summer jobs and other gifts. Past honorees have been invited to return to the banquet for a reunion. Funding for the Fulton County Beat the Odds Program is provided by the Presenting Sponsor, The Coca-Cola Company, Inc.; and Gold Sponsors Jim Cowart, Inc.; Roberts Properties, Inc.; US Filter/KHAFRA Engineering; WSB-TV Channel 2; and WVEE-FM 103.3. "These students, who faced life with the odds stacked against them, are shining examples of young people who persevere and emerge victorious over those odds," said Boxill. "Through the years I have marveled at their sagas of triumph over adversities such as poverty and family strife. They inspire others who face similar challenges." Selected from essays written by students and nominations made by teachers, counselors and principals, the 2002 "Beat the Odds" honorees are: ·Jon M. Goodwin, 18, a Creekside High School senior who coped with the early death of his father and the turmoil of an unstable home to become a role model and mentor for others; ·Willis Clinton Harris, 17, a Booker T. Washington Comprehensive High School senior whose love for books helped him focus on his studies and caring for his mentally ill mother despite severe poverty and the taunts of his peers; ·Ronald Hart, 18, a South Atlanta High School senior for whom football helped tackle the despair of poverty and a disruptive homelife so he could excel on the gridiron and in the classroom; ·Rasheedah Owalabi, 18, a Southside Comprehensive High School senior whose religious faith helped her cope with a drug-abusing mother and remain an honor student with college plans after becoming a mother herself; ·Melissa Simpson, 18, a Frederick Douglass High School senior who focused on her studies and kept a "A" average despite neglect, abuse, a drug-addicted mother and homelessness; ·Christine Skowronek, 18, a Riverwood High School senior whose resilient spirit helped her withstand constant physical and emotional abuse from family members and become independent. ·Mauricio Velasquez, 17, a Milton High School junior who survived violence, homelessness and abuse, and drug abuse to focus on school and strive for a better future.
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