By David Ball
The Port Arthur News
PORT ARTHUR
May 15, 2008 09:05 pm
—
Memorial High School senior Angela Guerrero was thankful to everyone involved for awarding her the Re-Engineering for Academic Excellence Scholarship.
“I’m so excited to get this scholarship. I’m glad everyone got their money. I hope all of y’all do well in college and spend your money wisely. I thank you for the scholarship because it will be helpful in my future,” a tearful Guerrero said.
Her scholarship was for $750.
Likewise, George Romar received $2,000 for his scholarship and he, too, was thankful.
“I can definitely use the $2,000. I love my classmates and all things are possible through determination and imagination,” he said.
Twenty-six Port Arthur Independent School District graduating seniors received $15,400 in scholarships at the annual Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council meeting and special awarding of the 2008 Re-Engineering for Academic Excellence Scholarships Thursday at the Stilwell Technical Center.
Dr. Johnny Brown, PAISD superintendent, spoke to the students and their families about the need for students to keep up with the latest trends in technology.
“We don’t need to teach in 2008 like we did in the 1960s,” he said. “We need resources and support for the 21st century. I won’t be satisfied until the Port Arthur Independent School District is top-rated and an exemplary school district. Kids text message more than they call people.”
He then asked students what kind of technological advances could help students to learn.
Some responded they favor more visual learning. Others wanted more hands-on training while more in-depth explanation of things taught was mentioned.
Other ideas floated around were online lectures featured with the new textbooks, electronic hand-held books and books on IPod.
The Keynote speaker for the event was Dr. Nathaniel Langston Barnes.
Barnes was born and raised in Port Arthur. He graduated from Brown University, Harvard Medical School, completed his internship at Duke University. He also served in the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of major.
He now lives in Houston with his wife, Dr. Marcia Barnes, their son Geoffrey, and their daughter Katherine. Geoffrey will be attending Yale University in the fall and Katherine is already a professional opera singer in the seventh grade.
Barnes said his mother was the biggest influence in his life. His family and teachers would constantly push him to read.
“Knowledge is power. Acquiring knowledge is exciting. With reading, I can go anywhere,” Barnes said. “Every kid born has the same potential. It’s what you do with that information. Find something your passionate about. You can do anything you want to do. Parents, invest in your kids. Don’t just say my kid is going to be a ball player and that’s it with nothing to fall back on. Very few make it to professional sports and the careers typically don’t last too long. You can be out at age 25 and there’s still a whole lot of living left to do. We need student-athletes.”
He urges students to never stop learning and make wise decisions in life.
“If something is worth having in life, it’s worth working for,” Barnes said.
Brown asked the students to gauge the school district’s performance for the year by applause. The crowd was evenly split with some giving an A, and the rest giving the district a B.
Brown responded that there’s always room for improvement.
Port Arthur Independent School District Re-Engineering for Academic Excellence Scholarship recipients for 2007-2008"
George Romar - $2,000
Tiffany Nguyen - $1,000
Ernesto Alvarez, Jr. - $1,000
Charoltte Gulwwicz - $1,000
Jamie Prescott - $1,000
Thuy Tran - $1,000
Lucia Andrade - $1,000
Brittany Paul - $1,000
Solomon Delaney, Jr. - $750
Angela Guerrero - $750
Sterling Scraggs - $750
Brianna Roy - $750
Anna Gomez - $500
Omar Zepeda - $500
Jennifer Zamora - $500
Elizabeth Gonzales - $500
Cuevas Peacock - $500
Sarah Ackah - $100
Kristen Artola - $100
Kandice Smith - $100
Tylisicia Guill - $100
Chloe’ Monae’ Bolden - $100
Adilen Sevilla - $100
Arielle Scypion - $100
Alba Parra - $100
Total award amounts - $15,400
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.