First Summer Citizen Teacher Social & Presidential Awards Kick Off School Year
New and returning Citizen Teachers from Charlotte, grounded in the belief that all members of a community can be part of closing the achievement gap, gathered for the first-ever Citizen Schools North Carolina Summer Citizen Teacher Social on August 1st to celebrate a year of success and to kick off apprenticeships for the fall.
As more than thirty guests from Bank of America, EMC, Microsoft and UNC Charlotte mingled with one another in the vast UNC Charlotte Center City ballroom, it became obvious that the Citizen Schools 2012-2013 school year was off to a strong start.
John Gilson, chair of the Citizen Schools North Carolina Advisory Board and Citizen Teacher of four Mock Trial apprenticeships at Eastway Middle School, shared a heartwarming story with attendees about why he volunteers with Citizen Schools.
During a recent Mock Trial WOW! at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse, one of Mr. Gilson's apprentices, Tyrone, became visibly upset about the verdict, which was not in his team's favor. Mr. Gilson witnessed Tyrone crying and hugging his mother who had attended to show her support.
"I walked over to tell them exactly what I was thinking – I was honored that Tyrone cared so much about the apprenticeship that he cried in front of his classmates. To me, there is no better compliment as a Citizen Teacher than to see that one of your students truly cares. Also, I told Tyrone that he was fantastic and that he had nothing to be upset about. Tyrone was a fan favorite, several of the jurors and the Judge mentioned to me that Tyrone was exceptional. Tyrone’s mother mentioned to me that he wanted to be an attorney when he grew up. At that moment, I knew that I had far exceeded my goal of doing something meaningful."
Mr. Gilson then left the attendees with the following words of encouragement and thanks:
"Committing to a ten-week long apprenticeship, and to the countless hours spent preparing for class and preparing for your WOW! is a great sacrifice of your time. I hope that each of you looks back on the semester with fond memories, that you too found something meaningful, and most importantly, I hope that you all agree to volunteer again this coming school year."
The Research Triangle Park Headquarters was equally as packed the night before with Citizen Teachers from Durham. More than thirty volunteers from Cisco, Duke, EMC and Fidelity assembled in the front corridor for the same purpose as their Charlotte counterparts: education reform.
Robert Lake, a past Citizen Teacher for three semesters in Durham, shared his experience and gave accolades to the past year’s success. He concluded with encouraging words for the new semester.
Citizen Teachers also participated in a Twitter hashtag raffle. To be eligible for the raffle, attendees had to tweet that they were at the event and use a custom hashtag. Special shout out to Ed Lau, a Microsoft employee and Charlotte Citizen Teacher, for winning!
Finally, at both the Charlotte and Durham Citizen Teacher Socials, last year’s Presidential Award winners were recognized with a certificate and pin from the President of the United States. Please join us in congratulating the following Citizen Teachers for the recognition of their service!
GOLD |
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| Acey Boyce | UNCC Stars Alliance | Eastway Middle School |
| Arthur Everett | EMC | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Brandon Fennell | Bank of America | Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School |
| Elvira Johnson | CPCC STARS Alliance | Eastway Middle School |
| Hong Zou | EMC | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| James Gleeson | EMC | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Jerry Diehl | EMC | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Katelyn Doran | UNCC Stars Alliance | Eastway Middle School |
| Kim Kiesow | EMC | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Sonya Johnson | CPCC STARS Alliance | Eastway Middle School |
SILVER |
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| Carol Lenox | EPA | Neal Middle School |
| Derek Powe | Fidelity | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Edward Lau | Microsoft | Eastway Middle School |
| Isaac Carter | Microsoft | Eastway Middle School |
| Joseph Austin | NCSU | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Matthew Rascoff | Wireless Generation | Neal Middle School |
| Melissa Garrett | Anuvia Prevention and Recovery | Eastway Middle School |
| Peter Smith | NCSU | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Ricky Mohamed | Microsoft | Eastway Middle School |
BRONZE |
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| Anindita Mukherjee | Cognizant | Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School |
| Anne-Marie Stevenson | Latta Plantation Nature Center | Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School |
| Bernine Khan | EPA | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Brian Bolt | Cisco | Neal Middle School |
| Carl Roda | NCSU | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Carson Dimick | Duke University School of Law | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Coleman Poag | EMC | Neal Middle School |
| Daniel Oldman | EMC | Neal Middle School |
| Ian Long | Duke University School of Law | Neal Middle School |
| James Bowen | Neal Middle School | |
| Jarred DeVaughn-Brown | NCSU | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Joshua Williams | Eastway Middle School | |
| Julia Conner | Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department | Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School |
| Kelly Leovic | EPA | Neal Middle School |
| Michael Juby | Parker, Poe, Adams and Bernstein, LLP | Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School |
| Rachel Clark | EPA | Lowe's Grove Middle School |
| Rebecca Dodder | EPA | Neal Middle School |
| Robert Lake | Cisco | Neal Middle School |
| Saurav Das | Cognizant | Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School |
| Tonya Melvin-Bryant | NCSU | Lowe's Grove Middle School |