At a time when the road to progress in the black community is anchored in its youth, it's refreshing to know that future leaders will be accomplish minded young men and women who are accustomed to challenging standards of excellence.
Tomorrow's leaders represent the new breed of African Americans who are looking to carry the torch as today's leaders continue to gray. They will build from a foundation of events and activities processed by decades of resourceful, courageous, talented and resilient African American families.
The young people being presented in this issue of The Perspective II are represented of but a few of the young stars who will be gatekeepers of the future for the African American culture. Amber Selene Battle is an Albuquerque, New Mexico native, and is currently a freshman at Cibola High School. Her parents are Bruce Battle Sr. and Marcie Battle. Amber is a top rated athlete who will be playing at the varsity level for the Cibola High School basketball team this year. She is also a gifted track and field athlete.
Amber maintains a 3.38 grade point average although she has a busy schedule. Outside of athletics and school, she is also a member of the Rio Rancho chapter of the Junior NAACP.
Her role models are her parents, "because they have taught me that anything I put my mind to, I can achieve," says Amber.
"My goal is to attend the University of Tennessee with a basketball scholarship and then to become a professional basketball player in the WNBA.
Outside of basketball, I plan to graduate with a degree in sports medicine. I would then like to work in the Professional or College athletic field."
Amber is one of only two freshmen to travel with the Cibola Girls Basketball team to participate this summer in two NCAA sanctioned tournaments. "My parents have always encouraged me to seek God first in everything I do in my life and everything else will fall into place. I believe that God has blessed me with a gift, and with his continued blessings and my family's support, I can achieve my goals. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me,' Philippians 4:13." Says Amber in conclusion.Ronnie Daniels was born in Longview, Texas, and in October of 1996, his mother Carol moved him, his brother Ryan and his two sisters Shayla and Sandra to New Mexico to be close to her parents.
Ronnie is a freshman at La Cueva High School this year and is already being classified as one of the best young running backs to play in New Mexico in several years. Ronnie is a multi skilled athlete who is as talented in basketball and track and field as he is in football.
With all the distractions that accompany being a highly regarded athlete, Ronnie stays focused in the classrooms and maintains a 3.5 GPA.
He identifies his role models from within his family. "My Granddad (Charles Evans) and my older brother Ryan are my role models. They teach me the things that I need to know in life in order to be successful. My goal is to go to a division 1 college and to play either basketball or football. My goal academically would be to achieve a 3.5 or higher GPA throughout high school."
Ronnie is not sure of what his career areas of study will be but he is leaning toward the areas of Business and Marketing.
"I have established a good foundation in football and basketball and have been very successful in track. I have accumulated a great set of friends and I have a strong support group of family members. I am not concerned with my awards or honors. I just love athletic competition and sports have been good to me," said Ronnie. Shiana Saint-Lot is a junior at Del Norte High School. She was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti and her parents, mother, Sheraz Saint-Lot and her dad, Louis Saint-Lot, moved their family to New Mexico in 2004.
Shiana has 3 brothers, Talal, Kareem, and Jameel. "Me and my family moved to New Mexico because there were political problems in Haiti. The president was ousted in 2004 and life was very unstable. Schools were closed for long periods at a time and there were kidnappings and killings everyday," shared Shiana.
Shiana is an exceptional student who has a 4.4 G.P.A. She has been a straight A student throughout high school. Last year she was the M.V.P. for the Del Norte volleyball team and this year she is the team captain. She is also the president of the Black Student Union at Del Norte, and is also a member of the tennis team.
Her role models are her parents she says, "Because they have struggled through so many situations but they have still been able to succeed and provide my siblings and me with a great life. My goals are to graduate from high school and college. I want to go back to Haiti someday and help its people by either creating jobs or raising awareness of the problems plaguing the country. I don't know what I want to major in yet but I am looking at psychology. I plan to get married and have children."Tyrus L. Sanders is a senior at West Mesa High School. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and his mother, Tamera Henderson, moved him and his sister, Shaundra, to New Mexico in 1995.
Tyrus' Grade Point Average is 4.0, and he is the Student Body President at West Mesa High School.
He is very active with activities outside of school; the DECA (Marketing Club),
BSU (Black Student Union), MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement),
NHS (National Honors Society) and Skills USA.
"My mother is my role model because of everything she has done for me, and my future is more clearly defined because of the sacrifices she has made," says Tyrus.
"My goal is to attend a nice four year college or university where I can get my degree and be financially successful inmy field of study. I eventually plan to own a business, travel the world and visit every continent (except Antarctica)," said Tyrus.
Tyrus plans to get a business and management degree. A heavily decorated young man, Tyrus has been awarded:
-1st place in National ACTSO (Afro academic, cultural, technical, scientific, Olympics) in Computer Science
-4th place in ISEF (International Intel Science and engineering fair) in team computer science with Quinton Smith and Chris Hammond
-Awarded the Gold Medal (1st place) for Related Technical Math in Skills USA, New Mexico Chapter
-Awarded Gold Medal in Public Speaking for DECA state conference
-Awarded 3rd place for the 10th grade UNM-PNM Statewide Mathematics Contest XXXVIII
Sharraine Ransom is a native New Mexican and is a junior at Albuquerque High School. Her mother is Sheila Ransom and she has a brother, Zuberi, and two sisters, Ryeisha, and Moeneeah. Sharraine has a 3.5 grade point average and has excellent reading and writing skills that has been documented with her being awarded several certificates. She has been on honor rolls since her elementary school years and has been awarded Presidential awards from Bill Clinton in 1998 and George Bush in 2003.
She has been a member of the Albuquerque High School Black Student Union for the past three years and she is the captain of their BSU step team.
She recently became a member of the highly acclaimed drill team at Bethlehem Baptist Church.
Sharraine is very active in community functions and often assists her grandmother, Lovie Ransom, at her job with the Salvation Army.
She can also be found assisting her mom at her job site at the Eugene Fields Elementary School.
It's no wonder she identifies her mom and her grandmother as her role models, "My mom and my grandmother are strong women who have worked hard all their lives to make a difference for their families. All the good qualities that I want to have for my life, I see in them," says Sharraine.
Sharraine plans to go to college and become a lawyer, a goal she has envisioned since elementary school. Sharraine says, "I want to graduate from college and be successful in doing something that changes the world." Quinton Smith was born in New Mexico and is a recent graduate of La Cueva High School, and he is currently in his freshman year at the University of New Mexico.
Quinton's father is Booker T. Smith and his mother is Crystal Smith-Watson. He has a younger brother, Andrew Watson.
Quinton graduated from high school with an accumulative GPA of 4.2.
"I look up to my family and friends but I especially honor those who are willing to deviate from conformity and express themselves in an original way," is how Quinton identified those who make a difference in his life.
Quinton plans to make a positive contribution to society. "Right now, I am studying biochemistry in hope to become a biomedical engineer and make contributions in fighting cancer. I feel that with research in engineering and medicine, there might be a day where cancer can be treated with a trip to Walgreens with prescription medicine."
Quinton identifies some of the awards he has received: "Through a team project, I was able to qualify for an International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) from a local competition at UNM. We placed 2nd in team projects at the local fair and at ISEF we placed 4th. Just being able to compete with talented young individuals across the country and the world was a great accomplishment because it is a necessity to learn and interact with people from diverse backgrounds. From the project competed at the ISEF I focused on the mathematical portion in Detroit, Michigan and placed first in my category at ACT-SO, a competition designed to recognize the talents of young blacks in America through the NAACP."