Twenty-one kids who are doing something right received standing ovations – and valuable snippets of advice – when Denver chapter of The Links, Inc. hosted its 24th Tribute to Black Youth Luncheon.
From keynote speaker Kwame Jackson, first runner-up in the inaugural season of NBC’s reality show “The Apprentice,” to various officers in the chapter, the honorees left the Renaissance Denver Hotel with a wealth of information.
Jackson, a Harvard MBA with executive experience on Wall Street and with a Fortune 500 company, acknowledged that “The youth in this room knows the what’s up on ‘wassup,'” but emphasized that they can never allow themselves to fall into an excuse-making mode.
Links Marsha Johnson and Linda Williams chaired the luncheon while members Kathryn Gavin, Cynthia Holmes and Vicki Minor coordinated the year-long program that introduced the 7th-through-12th-graders to people and programs that can “broaden their perception of career choices and help them make educated choices about their goals.” Gavin, Holmes and Minor said they chose activities that reflect “… our changing world and the need to give our young people the tools to survive, and compete, in it. We also wanted them to feel the responsibility of service to their community.”
Each student was given a $1,000 educational stipend from the Links and a round-trip ticket to any Frontier Airlines destination. The latter gift, said airline spokesman Andrew Hudson, was made in hopes the recipients might use it to visit potential colleges or reunite with family living outside of Colorado.
The honorees included Indya Clark, a junior at St. Mary’s Academy, who helped raise the money for her brother’s eye surgery after he was stabbed trying to save a girl being attacked, and; Audrey Moton, a senior at St. Mary’s who as been recognized for achieving the highest grades possible for classes in anatomy, French II, American literature, Algebra II and III, trigonometry and molecular biology.
Others were Ashlie Brown, Courtnee Brown, Terrance Caldwell, Natasha Cochran, Cherya Dowden, Daniel Edwards, Sanai Fennel, Alyssa Green, Gloria Jirsaraie, Lucas Kidane, Dorcas Kimata, Marcus Morgan, Rachel Roberson, Ihsan Robbins, Tanay Shaw, Jasmine Tatum, Jamilia Walker, Terrence Williams and Kahlil Zawadi.
Reach society editor Joanne Davidson at 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com. She also contributes at denverpostbloghouse.com/davidson.
More online: From the Tribute to Black Youth Luncheon denverpost.com/Seen Gallery
