University of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113, (312) 996-3456, www.uic.edu/depts/paff

June 27, 2001

Contact: Jeffron Boynes, (312) 413-8702, jboynes@uic.edu

Editors: Please note local interest. Photos available

UIC AND CHICAGO NAACP HONOR ACT-SO AWARD WINNERS

Thirty-eight medal winners of the 2001 Chicago NAACP Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics will be honored at "Invest in Excellence"-the 11th annual ACT-SO awards celebration at the University of Illinois at Chicago scheduled for June 28.

The salute to ACT-SO winners starts at 11:30 a.m. in the Illinois Room of the UIC Chicago Circle Center, 750 S. Halsted St.

"This year's theme, 'Invest in Excellence' speaks to our commitment as a campus community to inspire youth to excel in academic and artistic endeavors," says Ann Smith, UIC director of community relations.

The 14 ACT-SO gold medallists from Chicago will represent the city at the national competition in New Orleans in early July, when they will compete for college scholarships with 2,000 students from around the country.

Local chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People sponsor the program, which inspires and encourages youth toward excellence in academic and cultural pursuits. High school students from across the country compete in areas of the sciences, humanities, performing arts and visual arts.

The NAACP marks its 24th anniversary of the ACT-SO competition, which was founded by nationally acclaimed newspaper journalist and television commentator Vernon Jarrett, who coined the ACT-SO slogan, "A scholar has a right to be a hero." Jarrett, retired columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, is a senior fellow at the Great Cities Institute at UIC.

The UIC event's keynote speaker will be Amina Dickerson, director of corporate contributions for Kraft Foods. At Kraft, she is responsible for a broad range of national philanthropic programs dealing with hunger, domestic violence, arts education and culture.

Nearly 300 people, including parents, high school principals, business and community leaders, UIC administrators and faculty members are expected to attend the June celebration on campus.

As a leading public institution in a major city, UIC embraces this opportunity to contribute to the well-being of Chicago and other metropolitan communities.

The winners of the 2001 Chicago NAACP Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics are:

Humanities
Marques Jackson, Senn High School, gold medal, playwriting
Charity Curtis, Providence - St. Mel High School, silver medal, playwriting
Ashley Walls, Jones High School, bronze medal, playwriting
Temeka Johnson, South Side College Prep, gold medal, poetry
Kylah Williams, Whitney Young High School, silver medal, poetry
Cadavius Summerall, Harper High School, bronze medal, poetry
Nathaniel Gordon, Jones High School, silver medal, original essay
Vanessa Flowers, Curie High School, bronze medal, original essay
Lonnie Norwood, Luther South High School, gold medal, music composition
Darius Hampton, Whitney Young High School, silver medal, music composition

Performing Arts
Keith Sidney, Jones High School, gold medal, dramatics
Collette Reaco, Hyde Park High School, silver medal, dramatics
Samantha Tanner, Jones High School, bronze medal, dramatics
Aeleise Harris, Whitney Young High School, gold medal, dance
Ashley Jackson, Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, silver medal, dance
Leigh Davenport, Whitney Young High School, bronze medal, dance
Leigh Davenport, Whitney Young High School, gold medal, oratory
Melvin Dillard, Whitney Young High School, silver medal, oratory
Estherine Morgan, Hyde Park High School, bronze medal, oratory
Darius Hampton, Whitney Young High School, gold medal, music instrumental/contemporary Jamaal Borum, De LaSalle High School, silver medal, music instrumental/contemporary Christopher Smith, Evanston High School, bronze medal, music instrumental/cotemporary
Khari Woolfolk, Lincoln Park High School, gold medal, music instrumental/classical
Christopher Smith, Evanston High School, silver medal, music instrumental/classical
Stephanie Sowell, Lincoln Park High School, bronze medal, music instrumental/classical
Isaiah Robinson, Kenwood High School, gold medal, music vocal/contemporary
Kylah Williams, Whitney Young High School, silver medal, music vocal/contemporary
Lonnie Norwood, Luther South High School, bronze medal, vocal/contemporary
Isaiah Robinson, Kenwood High School, gold medal, music vocal/classical
Jonathan Green, Kenwood Academy, silver medal, music vocal/classical
Ronnell Brooks, Providence - St. Mel High School, bronze medal, music vocal/classical

Visual Arts
Bianca Lacey, Simeon High School, gold medal, sculpture
Natasha Bolden, King High School, bronze medal, sculpture
DaJuan Marshall, Julian High School, silver medal, sculpture
Brandon J. Lewis, Curie High School, gold medal, photography
Jacob Sartin, George Washington High School, silver medal, photography
Tamalla Doss, Curie High School, bronze medal, photography
DaJuan Marshall, Julian High School, gold medal, drawing
Temeka Johnson, South Side College Prep, silver medal, drawing
Marcus Stapes, Harper High School, bronze medal, drawing
DaJuan Marshall, Julian High School, gold medal, painting
Taneva Jones, Harper High School, silver medal, painting
Bianca Lacey, Simeon High School, bronze medal, painting
Cortez Williamson, Westinghouse High School, silver medal, filmmaking/video

Sciences
Vanessa Flowers, Curie High School, gold medal, biology
Demetria Gaston, Providence - St. Mel High School, bronze medal, biology
Marjeria Jones, Simeon High School, gold medal, physics/general
Martina Rodgers, Westinghouse High School, silver medal, architecture
Marcus Jones, Westinghouse High School, bronze medal, architecture

- UIC -