Saluting Student Academic Achievement - United States - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, June 7, 2001 by Rachel Green

Triple Threat

The MARTIN TRIPLETS, KENYA, WARREN and DESHUN, graduated summa cum laude from Jackson State University. Headed to the University of Mississippi Law School in the fall, the three have pledged to donate $1 million to their alma mater within the first seven years of law school graduation. Kenya and Warren were the class valedictorians with a 4.0 grade-point average. Deshun also graduated with high honors with a 3.9 grade-point average. The 22-year-old triplets plan to launch a law firm together.

A New Game Plan

BERNAL JEAN, a former high school football star, injured his knee and lost his college scholarship and his future career in one blow. "After my injury, I thought my only option would be to work in fast-food restaurants for the rest of my life, or do something desperate, because I didn't want to end up without any money, living in terrible circumstances," he says. Jean, however, recently graduated with honors from Miami-Dade Community College with an associate's degree in biology. He has been admitted to the University of Miami, where he will begin his studies in pre-medicine this fall. Jean's goal is to become a neurosurgeon.

Music From the Heart

ILLMAR GAVILAN, a student at the Manhattan School of Music, took top honors in the Senior Division at the Finals Concert of the Fourth Annual Texaco-Sphinx Competition, which promotes the development of young Black and Latino string players. Gavilan's future goals include becoming a solo concert violinist. MELISSA WHITE, a student at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, was the first-place winner in the Junior Division. White maintains a 3.8 grade-point average. Her future goals include becoming a member of the Metropolitan Opera Symphony Orchestra in New York.

All in the Family

Morris Brown College students CHENWI, ELIZABETH and LEMBE AMBE were honored for maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average. From left, Lembe is a sophomore chemistry major; Chenwi is a junior biology major; and Elizabeth is a sophomore biology major. This trio of brother and sisters has not only made great achievements academically, but has also been accepted into numerous internship and scholarship programs.