The St. Louis Community Empowerment Foundation recently provided $25,000 in scholarships and educational grants to students and organizations based on academic achievement and community service. Anheuser Busch and David and Thelma Steward were each presented five scholarships in their name respectively at the 10th Annual Salute to Women in Leadership.
Scholarships and educational grants were also presented to students in the St. Louis Public Schools, Ranken Technical College, the Royal Vagabonds, the St. Louis City, St. Louis County and East St. Louis Branches of the NAACP, St. Louis Public School Foundation and St. Louis Community College Foundation.
“We are extremely proud of our scholarship/internship/mentoring program and the success of the youth that have graduated and those that are still participating,” said Michael McMillan, Chairman of the Board of the foundation. “We are extremely grateful to Anheuser Busch, David and Thelma Steward and all of our sponsors for their generous support of our efforts.”
AKA awards scholarships
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Gamma Omega Chapter, recently awarded financial aid to 16 graduating seniors.
The Scholarship Certificates were awarded by Leonor S. Buchanan, chairman of the Scholarship Committee; Villajean Jones, president of Gamma Omega; and Lonita D. Rowland, member of the committee.
The winners are: Alliah Beeks, Lutheran North, Butler University; Rachel Bisch, Kirkwood, Bradley University; Sydney Byrd, Pattonville, Lindenwood University; Tevin Hamilton, McCluer North, Southern University; Brianna Helm, Gateway STEM, University of Missouri; Adam Kaminsky, Pattonville, Washington University – St. Louis; Nubari Kanee, Webster Groves, Illinois Wesleyan; Demi Lewis, Kirkwood, Howard University; Marcellus Miller, Chaminade, American University; Mackenzie Patterson, Edwardsville, University of Missouri – Kansas City; Daisha Tankins, McCluer, Spelman; Tayler Tate ,Carnahan, Webster University; Alexis Tucker, McCluer, Howard University; Aun’yiea Watson, University City, Hampton University; Aubrey Williams, University City, University of Missouri.
Leonor Shelton Buchanan is the chairman of the Scholarship Committee and Villajean Jones serves as president of Gamma Omega.
‘Exceptionally Gifted Student’
Arael Rauls, a Hazelwood School District sophomore who attends the St. Louis Regional Program for Exceptionally Gifted Students (PEGS), was chosen to participate in the 2013 Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA) held at the University of Missouri in Columbia in June. She is one of 330 scholars of MSA who participated in this three-week educational academy.
PEGS accepts qualified students from school districts throughout the St. Louis area. The program provides a full-time, multi-aged, enriched and extended academic program for those highly-gifted students who need an alternative to the regular classroom.
The program curriculum is designed for exceptionally gifted students based on the following principles: accelerated learning through curriculum compacting, advanced training in critical and creative thinking and research skills required in the various academic subjects, creative production of projects based on topics of special interest to students, special assistance with social and emotional growth, mentors to enrich and extend learning in their areas of expertise and main-streaming for fine arts and physical education with students their own age.
She began her educational pursuit at Cold Water Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District, from kindergarten through third grade. That is, until Connie Steinmetz, her former kindergarten teacher, now HSD reading specialist, saw something special in her abilities and encouraged her mother to have her tested for HSD’s gifted education program.
Her mother, Althea Rauls, said, “It truly takes a village to raise a child and Arael has enjoyed a very large village. I believe everyone that enters her life has participated. While special members abound, one in particular, Connie Steinmetz, stands out.”
It has been 10 years since Steinmentz has been in communication with the Rauls’ family, but she was delighted to hear about her former student.
“I remember Arael very well,” said Steinmetz. “I am so happy that she is continuing to be the success that I knew she would be. It made me feel very special that her family remembered me.”
Since kindergarten, Areal has been invited to participate in several conferences and academic forums. She has traveled since she was in the third grade attending different symposiums and educational programs. When she was 8 years old, Arael traveled to Atlanta to attend the Summer Institute for the Gifted (SIG). While there, she attended a three-week program at Emory University.
The SIG program allowed Arael to take college-level courses including business, cartooning, drama and chemistry classes. Although her grandmother accompanied her on the trip to Atlanta, she lived on campus with other participants. During her stay, she was challenged with doing her own laundry, personal hygiene and styling her hair.
Another of Arael’s early accomplishments was the opportunity to travel to Sydney, Australia, as a seventh-grader, to participate in an exchange program.
“One of the primary comparisons in Australian’s schools versus U.S. schools is in Australia, students are given a two-week break and six-week break, which helps the children remember things faster. Unlike in the U.S., where students are given the entire summer off, allowing a greater opportunity for children to forget what they have learned,” she said.
While in the seventh grade, Arael participated in the Duke Tip program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving academically gifted and talented students. Duke TIP works with students, their families, and educators to identify, recognize, challenge, engage, and help students reach their highest potential. The program identifies bright seventh graders based on standardized test scores achieved while attending elementary or middle school. Candidates are invited to take the ACT or the SAT college entrance exams as seventh graders, which allows them greater insight into their academic abilities. She scored in the upper five percentile on the College Board’s Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and received medals at both the state and national levels.
In a most recent accomplishment, Arael participated in a program called the People to People International (PTPI), which was a conference held in Chicago, IL. The PTPI forum helped her and other students relate to the subjects of international understanding, education, leadership, and humanitarianism.
“I am self-motivated because I want to learn,” Arael said. “I surround myself with knowledge, not always interesting, but definitely necessary. My grandmother was my first teacher. Although I attended several early childhood education centers, eventually, it was my grandmother who home-schooled me until I began my formal education.”
Ara Rauls, her grandmother, believes that early childhood education is the key.
“You have to start setting the expectations early-on, then, the child carries that with them throughout their life,” Ara said. “I am so proud of Arael; thus far she has received 50 letters of interest from colleges and universities and she has not even submitted and application. It seems as if every day she receives another acceptance letter. I am grateful.”
For additional information on the PEGS program, please visit http://gifted.psdr3.org/pegs.html.
