Highlights
Inspiration Awards Luncheon, with featured speaker Edwidge Danticat
Edwidge Danticat
From left: Jonathan Salinas, Jenny Ann de la Vina, Tanya Rojas, Danticat, Gabriel Zacarias, Gladys Sanchez, and Guillermo Ramirez
Danticat with Gabriel Zacarias of Santa Maria High School and Gladys Sanchez of Miami Senior High School
At the third annual Inspiration Awards luncheon on Sunday, October 31st, College Board President Gaston Caperton welcomed the audience to what he called one of his favorite events of the year. On stage, the student delegates from Santa Maria High school in California, Edinburgh North High School in Texas, and Miami Senior High School in Florida took their seats. "Of all the work I do at the College Board," said Governor Caperton, "there is nothing I enjoy more, or learn more from, than the Inspiration Awards."
Duniel Tejeda, a recent graduate of Miami Senior High, then took the stage to sing the national anthem.
Governor Caperton then described visiting and meeting with teachers, administrators, and students from each of the Inspiration Awards schools, and seeing the efforts that every member of those communities devoted to making sure their students had access to high quality, rigorous college preparatory programs. He then welcomed Wendy Francois, a Columbia University student and a graduate of Miami's Homestead High School, a 2002 Inspiration Award School. Wendy spoke movingly about featured speaker Edwidge Danticat, whom she has long admired. "How do you convey in a language that is not your native tongue, the fragile experience of a voiceless people?" asked Wendy. "For answers, look to Edwidge Danticat, because her writing undauntedly answers these questions, allowing the under-represented culture of Haiti to resonate in American culture and society."
Edwidge Danticat began her remarks by noting that this ceremony seemed like an important opportunity for reflection and celebration. "Moments like this always seem like a milestone," she said. "It is a milestone for these students and teachers, whose sacrifices and hard work are being rewarded today. But also for all of us, who have an opportunity to hear about and to witness their stories."
Danticat evoked the African proverb that it takes a village to raise a child, and added a corollary: it takes a village to educate a child. She described her own adolescence, and her move to New York City from Haiti in 1981, when she was 12 years old. She arrived on a Friday in March and was in school the following Monday, despite the fact that she spoke no English and was entirely unfamiliar with the educational system. She described several of the teachers and mentors who became her educational village, and were instrumental in nurturing her love of learning and her eventual development as a writer.
"And my educational village also goes back all the way home to Haiti," said Danticat. "I have an Uncle, who is now 81 years old, who gave me my first book. Part of the deal with the book was that if I read it, he would give me another one. I would frustrate him by reading the book in an hour and then he would have to go back to the store and trade it for another one."
Danticat also described her own experience as the scribe for her immigrant family, which spoke little English. When students today ask her why they should bother learning to write well if they are not going to become writers, she answers: "When others write for you, your voice gets lost in translation. No one can write you in the way you write you. If you don't, your village loses one more story, one more voice."
Danticat joined the six student delegates on the stage. After the students had introduced themselves, Danticat began by asking what challenges they had faced in their communities or schools. Gladys Sanchez, of Miami Senior High, described her experiences as a young Cuban immigrant. "It was a harsh transition coming from a country so different from this one. Your parents come from a totally different context and you have to take that extra step." She explained that her younger brother, who is now nine years old, often asks her to translate when he wants to have a conversation with their parents. "It hurts them, I can tell," she said.
Guillermo Ramirez, Gladys's senior classmate, added that his parents, who brought their family to Miami from Peru when Guillermo was four years old, struggle to make sense of the American educational system. "I tell them that I want to take an AP class, but they don't know what an AP class is. I tell them, 'it means I'm doing good.'"
Jonathan Salinas, a senior at Edinburgh North High School, described how his grandfather, a migrant worker, was forced to leave school after the 6th grade. He encouraged Jonathan's mother to pursue and education and Jonathan felt deeply grateful for that encouragement.
Danticat asked each of the students to describe someone in their own lives who had inspired them.
Jonathan Salinas again spoke about his grandfather. His classmate, Jenny Ann de la Vina, described her AP World History Teacher, who had put enormous effort into each of her students. That teacher often spoke of her own family's struggle to make ends meet, and how she had often gone without Christmas gifts when her parents needed to pay the bills. Jenny described how her class had decided to chip in and buy their teacher the Barbie doll she never had, to show her their appreciation.
Tanya Rojas of Santa Maria High School described her AP US history teacher. "He taught me that my ideas matter and that they have power, and that I can do anything I want to do."
Gabriel Zacarias painted a vivid picture of his 8th grade social studies teacher, who taught his students about the Civil War by leading them in reenactments using water guns. "That showed me that if somebody is truly passionate, whether they are teaching something or learning something, then it will stick with you," said Gabriel. "He taught something that could have been very boring if we had just read it out of a text book, but he made it so interested that I remember so much from that class."
Gladys Sanchez spoke of her parents' sacrifice in leaving Cuba for America. "My parents work so hard. I have been very fortunate that they have told me 'don't worry about working. We'll take care of that and you just worry about school.' They would give up so much just for me, and that's a heck of a motivation."
Guillermo Ramirez also credited his parents with inspiring him. They work several jobs, he said, and he has long since surpassed their knowledge of English, but they encourage him to continue on in school. "I have to do good and I have to make them proud," he said.
