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This year, Jalil was
rewarded for all that hard work when he received acceptance
notices from 11 colleges, including the University of
Pennsylvania, the University of Cincinnati and Vanderbilt
University, the three that ended up being his top choices.
He selected Vanderbilt
where he plans to major in a combination of pre-medicine and
health and society with a dose of human and organizational
development.
“Ever since I was nine or
10 years old, being a doctor is what I wanted to do, I’ve
always wanted to do that,” he says noting that he choices of
colleges was inspired by that desire and “an opportunity to
excel in the medical field.” His choice of a major and minor
at Vanderbilt will enable him to “learn more about the field
and the history behind it.”
Ultimately, Jalil would
like to become a surgeon, perhaps an orthopedic surgeon. He
would also, in that future as a doctor, relish the
opportunity to use his education and expertise to give back
to the community.
Speaking of
valedictorians, Whitney Hughes also achieved such
honors at Jones Leadership Academy of Business. Whitney, in
fact, was all over the map this spring and we kept bumping
into her at just about every event honoring students.
For example, the Delta
Gamma Sigmas honored her as one of the sorority’s
scholarship winners during their annual Breakfast for M’Lady.
Several weeks later, Whitney participated in the 2019
Debutante Cotillion sponsored by the National Association of
Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc, Toledo
Chapter and finished as the second runner up.
That level of achievement
is a reflection of a number of years of hard work and
success in and out of school. Whitney was part of Upward
Bound, the Law and Leadership Academy, the Ohio State Young
Scholars, the Chess Club, Young Women of Excellence, Model
United Nations, Student Council. She also ran track, played
volleyball and served as a varsity cheerleader.
The Drama Club, however,
commanded her attention, first and foremost. A
Midsummer’s Night Dream, 12 Angry Men, the Brothers Grimm
are a few of the productions in which she played a prominent
part; she has been in every production, in fact, during her
time at Jones Leadership.
Whitney finished with a
4.51 GPA, a host of scholarships and a desire to take her
dramatic talents to the next level – the top level, in fact.
Whitney is headed to Broadway … almost. She is actually
headed to the New York University with a hefty scholarship
package and a desire to major in journalism and ultimately
perform on the Great White Way.
“I’ve been meant for
that,” she says of her desire to head to the Big Apple. Her
mother concurs. Thandi Hughes took her four-year-old
daughter to New York for a visit and the four-year-old fell
in love with the big city and bright lights and became
determined to return for more than just a visit.
They say the neon lights
are bright … on Broadway.
And speaking of bright
lights, few lights shone brighter this year than the lights
at the top of the senior class at Scott High School. Twins
Deontae and Deontre Wright will be leaving soon to
study electrical engineering at The Ohio State University,
continuing an affinity that only identical twins can perhaps
fully appreciate.
Curious about their
relationship and how they have achieved such success thus
far, we asked whether they were primarily motivated by
competition against one another or being able to inspire
each other?
“Both,” they both said …
simultaneously, of course.
“There are times that one
of us does something and the other will know he has to do it
also,” said Deontae … or Deontre, explaining the competitive
urges.
“And sometimes one of us
has to make sure that the other one knows we have got to get
something done, get to a class, for example,” said Deontre …
or Deontae.
At any rate, the
combination of competition and inspiration moved them right
to the top of the class. Deontae is this year’s
valedictorian; Deontre is the salutatorian. Befitting their
work ethic, they finished with nearly identical GPAs of 4.3
and 4.31. During their high school years they have been part
of student government – treasury and secretary,
respectively, the Teen Outreach Program, the Youth
Opportunity Program, the Bowling Green State University
Upward Bound Program and Skills USA, to name a few.
Both have worked at
Pinnacle Technology and McDonald’s.
They were inspired to
study electrical engineering by their grandfather, Terrence
Wright, a Chrysler employee, who would buy houses to
renovate, along with his grandsons’ assistance. Their
ultimate goal is to return to the Toledo area after college
and start their own electrical engineering firm.
They are not, however,
planning to walk through life always sharing every challenge
or adventure. For example, they won’t be roommates during
their freshman year at OSU. Together or separate, they are
bound to continue to find success – hard work guarantees
that.
Woodward’s valedictorian
is also headed to The Ohio State University. Ariana Stone
is also vice president of the student council, a recipient
of a multitude of scholarships, participates in the Lourdes
University Upward Bound program and is a member of the
softball team.
As eager as she is to
enter the next phase of her life, Ariana reflects on her
years at Woodward relishing the time spent there. “It was
loads of fun,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s over. I have
so many good memories, it’s going to take some adjusting to
leave.”
No wonder! It’s been a
full four years!
Ariana achieved a 4.35 GPA
while also becoming involved with the Black History Month
program, spoken word, dance, Young Women of Excellence, the
Mental Health Support program, Woodward’s SMARTS program
representative – focusing on communication, school spirit
and attendance.
“Partaking in group
activities and conversations with students and
administrators from my community made me proud,” she said.
“It was inspiring to see so many people of different ages
and ethnicities with the same goal for Toledo Public
Schools.”
At OSU, Ariana will major
in business, specializing in marketing, and, since she has
been dancing since she was 10 years old, she plans to study
contemporary jazz dancing as well.
A lot of work ahead of
her, ahead of all of them. Fortunately they are all used to
hard work.
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