Ebony's Top Black High School Senior

Ebony, June, 2003

THE Top Black High School Seniors of 2003--a crop of future doctors, teachers, engineers, artists, writers, servicemen, research and computer scientists--have diligently remained on the straight path, despite all of the turbulence going on in the world. Collectively, these top seniors provide resounding proof that our Black youth are indeed destined for greatness.

* AARON COBBS of Omaha's Central High School is a member of the National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor Society. He plans to study engineering at the University of Chicago.

* KEVIN T. NEWSOME is the top-ranked student at William T. Raines High School in Jacksonville, Fla. Newsome, the captain of the varsity football team, plans to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, where he will major in economics.

* JULIET GIRARD of the William L. Dickinson High School in Jersey City, N. J., is the winner of the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition for Math, Science and Technology, with a cash scholarship valued at $50,000. She plans to become a research scientist.

* NERLIE PIERRE, the top-ranked student of her class at Philadelphia's Frankford High School, was cited as the outstanding African-American student by the education committee of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The honor student is involved in volleyball, choir, drama, tennis and is on the yearbook staff.

* Twin sisters LAKESHIA & LAKETA ENTZMINGER are ranked in the top 5 percent of their class at the James B. Dudley High School in Greensboro, N.C. The twins are participants in the NASA Sharp+ research program, and are members of the National Honor Society. They will study biology and pre-medicine at Xavier University.

* JESSICA RILEY, top-ranked student at Atlanta's Henry W. Grady High School, is the 2003 Trumpet Award scholarship winner. Riley has been granted a full scholarship to Spelman. She plans to study computer science.

* CHIKA OKAFOR of Chicago's Whitney Young High School has a 4.9 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and is an Advanced Placement Scholar (with honors), a Principal's Scholar, Illinois State Scholar and is a member of the National Honor Society.

* KERRY A. GODFREY ranks in the top 1 percent of her class at John F. Kennedy High School in New York. Godfrey is a Ventures Scholar, a member of the National Honor Society and is recognized by Who's Who Among American High School Students.

* STEPHANIE HAMMOCK is ranked in the top 2 percent of her class at the Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, Calif. Hammock is on the girls' track and field, and cheerleading teams. She has been recognized by Who's Who Among American High School Students.

* CURRY CHEEK, the top-ranked student at Washington, D.C.'s Benjamin Banneker Academic Senior High School, is the recipient of the All-Star F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Award. Cheek will study electrical engineering at Harvard.

* With a 5.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) ASHLEY GARRISON is the top-ranked student at Chicago's Morgan Park High School, is an Illinois State Scholar, the winner of the Harvard Book Award and the Model United Nations' Best Speakers Award.

* HASANI TYUS is the top-ranked student at Detroit's Lewis Cass Technical High School. The future illustrator will further his studies at the University of Michigan. Tyus is a member of the National Art Honor Society and has won several statewide art competitions.

* JOHNETTA TOODLE of Ramsay High School in Birmingham, Ala., is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Thurgood Marshall Achievers Society and is recognized by Who's Who Among American High School Students.

* KENDRA ROSS is also the top-ranked student at Detroit's Lewis Cass Technical High school. She is an All-American Scholar, a tutor with the National Honor Society and has won a full-tuition scholarship to Howard University.

* ERIC C. THOMAS, the top-ranked student of the John Marshall High School in Cleveland, has been awarded a full scholarship to Ohio State University, where he will study computer engineering. The Bausch & Lomb Science Award winner is also a peer tutor.

* Valedictorian DENNIS JOSEPH EDWARDS of Baton Rouge's Broadmoor High School, is headed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, with a $250,000 scholarship under his belt. Edwards is the winner of three Superior Cadet awards, and the Bausch & Lomb honorary science award.

* OLUWAROTIMI OKUNADE is ranked in the top 3 percent of her class at Cincinnati's Walnut Hills High School. The National Merit Scholar is also recognized as an Advanced Placement Scholar with distinction, and is a recipient of the Harvard Book Award.

* DONNA-LEE DESTOUCHE of the Boston Latin School was an award winner in the Latin and French national exam, does volunteer work with Teens Against Tobacco and Sisters Reach out to Stop Cancer, and completed the school's college prep curriculum with honors.

* PAUL BOONE of the Baltimore City College High School is a member of the National Honor Society, National Foreign Language Society, the National Honor Roll, and is recognized by Who's Who Among American High School Students.