Jessica Avant, 18 wins the bronze for playwriting
As the greater Des Moines metro, State of Iowa and the whole world focuses on the Olympics in Bejing, the high school a student representing the NAACP Des Moines Branch has returned on August 5 th from Orlando, FL competing in the Afro-Academic Cultural, Scientific, Olympics (ACT-SO) National Competition with a bronze medal in the Humanities category.
Jessica Avant, 18 won the 3 rd place bronze medal for playwriting. Jessica wrote a one act social political satire about using the “N” word. In the spring, Jessica's play will be presented by the Des Moines NAACP Youth Council and directed by Mr. Matthew McIver. Jessica has participated in the ACT-SO program for four years and has represented Des Moines at the national level all four years. Jessica is a 2008 graduate from Des Moines East High School and is the daughter of Anna Avant.
Eight students represented the Des Moines Branch: Jessica Avant, 18, 2008 graduate from East High School competed in Playwriting and Drawing. Britney Cameron 16, Junior attending Roosevelt High School competed in Vocal Music Contemporary. Eric Hall, 18 2008 graduate from Roosevelt High School competed in Business, Entrepreneurship. Ambreyanna Jones 15, Sophomore attending East High School competed in Music Composition and Poetry. McKenzie McCracken, 17, senior attending Roosevelt High School competed in Dance. Sarah Oyibo , 17 senior attending Urbandale High School competed in Painting. Bryce Shabazz, 18 a 2008 graduate from East High School competed in Oratory. Aaron Williams 16, junior attending Roosevelt High School competed in Mathematics.
In Orlando, ACT-SO celebrated its 30 th Anniversary with a spectacular display of academic and artistic excellence from students from across the nation. ACT-SO using the theme, The Fabric of the Future held a five day event including competition, workshops facilitated by some of the country's most renowned professionals in the specific competition categories. Music competitors participated in workshops presented by the Berkley School of Music, the Grammy Foundation, BET, and INFLX Entertainment. Entrepreneurship competitors participated in a business leadership workshop at the Epcot Center. Competitors auditioned for Darla Hayward, Walt Disney World Casting Director and Marsha Jackson-Randolph, Walt Disney World Show Director. Visual Arts competitors participated in workshops facilitated by Disney Imagineering. Science competitors participated in workshops presented by Dr. Christopher Kuhar, Research Manager, Education & Science at Disney's Animal Kingdom.
ACT-SO is a program for African American high school students who are looking for a venue to accelerate their passion for academic and fine arts. More than 700 students from NAACP branches competed in the Sciences, Humanities, Performing Arts, Visual Arts and Business. The ACT-SO students competed and celebrated in the mist of Walt Disney's World of Dreams. ACT-SO competitors served as Grand Marshall during the Saturday, August 2 nd afternoon parade down the Main Street of the Magic Kingdom.
The ACT-SO Awards ceremony was hosted by actress Tichina Arnold and Terry Lewis from the hit Fox show, Everyone Hates Chris. Jessica's medal was presented to her by Keke Palmer, star of the 2006 hit movie Akeelah and the Bee. The awards ceremony was recorded and will be televised on the Disney Channel at a later date.
The ACT-SO program is designed to enrich the academic and artistic skills of African American high school students to the level of professionalism that helps then earn college scholarships, internships and transition into professional careers. In the 30 year history of this national program, Des Moines has participated annual for more than 25 years. Des Moines is the only NAACP branch in the State of Iowa that hosts and annual ACT-SO local program and participates at the national level.
ACT-SO is possible because of its national advisory committee made up of representatives from some of the America's major corporations. Companies representing in Orlando included UPS, Dow Chemical, Wal Mart and the Ford Foundation.
The Des Moines ACT-SO program is a year-long community based program that provides training and support for local and national competition through mentoring . Competition registration is held in September. Students prepare for local competition between September and March. During the year, students participate in workshops and prepare for competition by participating in community events showcasing their specific competition presentations.
The local competition will be held April 4, 2009 and students who score 95 points or better will represent the Des Moines Branch at the national competition next year in July. The 2009 national ACT-SO competition will be held in New York.
Preparations for the local 2009 competition are underway. Students interested in participating in the 2009 program should attend the orientation meeting on Friday September 19 th 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Mickle Center 1620 Pleasant St. For additional information to help support the program, contact Gretchen Woods at 515-254-1947 or gretchenahw@peoplepc.com . To register to participate, contact Steve Fields at 515-313-7727. If you would like to be a mentor, please contact Sonya Collier at 515-778-0845. If you would like to be an ACT-SO judge, please call Annis Woods at 515-262-8345.
