Student Writing Contest

Rosalyn S. Hobson
by Tasha Tucker
Lloyd C. Bird High School
Chesterfield, Virginia

Often, when we think about strong men and women, we think about those recognized for being an excellent leader nationwide and sometimes worldwide. This is a false perception because there are people in our own community who show excellence in leadership. A lady who displays such excellence in leadership and who happens to live in my community is Rosalyn S. Hobson.

As a child, Hobson was highly engaged in math and science, which led her to win an award for constructing a radio. While attending public school at Woodrow Wilson High in Washington, D.C., she took advantage of an opportunity to study in Germany during her junior year. After graduating from high school, Hobson attended the University of Virginia and received her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degree in electrical engineering. Throughout her career in electrical engineering, she has lived by the belief that "opportunities are avenues by which you can fulfill your dreams."

Some opportunities that Hobson has taken advantage of include working with the U.S. Agency of International Development. By receiving more than $1.5 million for research to improve human conditions in poor countries, she has been able to work with programs in South Africa. Not only has she taken advantage of opportunities during her lifetime, she also has given many opportunities to young people in her community. Hobson has been involved in outreach programs such as Richmond Area Program for Minorities in Engineering and Inroads. Furthermore, she has taken time out of her busy schedule to volunteer at her church and at Richmond Community High School, to mentor girls, to speak at the public library, to write recommendation letters, and to nominate students for scholarships and awards. In addition, Hobson started an engineering program at Virginia Commonwealth University and has led "Engineers for Education," a volunteer organization.

Hobson is not only an excellent leader but also an inspiration for young women around the world. She has inspired me to be an engineer who can accomplish some of the same things she has already done. She has shown me that "opportunities are avenues by which I can fulfill my dreams," and that the only thing I have to do is take advantage of the opportunity. For all these amazing accomplishments, she has received many awards for putting the development of young people before herself. Clearly, Hobson has deserved her recognition as a strong leader for women and men everywhere.

Sojourner Truth
by Krupa Patel
Frank W. Cox High School
Virginia Beach, Virginia

I was born and raised in the United States by Indian immigrant parents; she was born in Ulster County, New York, and raised in an environment once rich of Dutch culture. I find strength in the love and support my parents provide; she was separated from her mother, father, and 12 siblings at an early age. I was encouraged to do well in school as a young child; she was sold into slavery at the age of nine. I was deprived of a television for doing wrong; she was whipped with a bundle of rods. I was given $100 for my birthday one year; this is how much she was worth.

Sojourner Truth and I have virtually nothing in common, yet the life of this resilient woman is one I relate to — one I can look up to in admiration. Her strength, character and faith pulled her through the tough years of her life that seemed interminable. Forced to grow into a mature adult before I could carry on most tasks without the help of my mother, Truth surrendered her childhood to the atrocities of slavery. In obedience to her owners, she remained dedicated to the work thrown before her worn hands. Her needs did not matter.

She was stripped of her culture and forced to take up the English language. Given no other option, she was instructed how to act, work, and love — her life was the product of her owner’s decrees. With no moral or intimate support, she found comfort in faith through God and herself. As a black woman, she was condemned by society, yet she found strength in her own mind. She did the work equivalent to that of a man, and she asked the world, "Ain’t I a woman?"

Truth eventually escaped slavery near the time of the Emancipation. She rejoiced in her freedom, yet work was not over. Though she no longer plowed and planted, Truth sustained her momentum and worked vigorously with the abolitionist and women’s suffrage movements. Her life was a mission, a mission to improve the status quo of not only herself, but her fellow women and former slaves. She spoke out to millions, giving them the hope and courage that allowed her to persevere. She spoke out to me. Though our plights differ, Truth gives me, a minority female, her faith and strength to overcome my own battles.

Rosa Parks
by Risham Tariq
J.E.B. Stuart High School
Fairfax County, Virginia

As this nation elected the first African-American president of the United States of America, I realized a new page has been created for the history books. I began to reminisce about all the men and women who helped make this achievement possible. Looking back through history, I was impressed by the courageous Rosa Parks. This African-American woman made great strides in order for children like me to have the power to dream and stand up for our beliefs.

In a time of great struggle and hardship for the African-American community, this woman possessed the power to speak out against segregation and the inequalities that overwhelmed her soul. During a time when the majority of African Americans did not have the opportunity to receive an education, Parks obtained a high school degree. Moreover, this woman challenged the obstacles that hindered her progress and became a catalyst for the civil rights movement. By refusing to give up her seat to a white man on that cold December day, Rosa Parks showed Montgomery, Alabama, and the world that human rights should not be limited to any race, and equality should be given to each individual. Parks knew that she was the victim of an injustice, treated differently because of her race. This injustice led her to initiate a nonviolent protest that would change the course of history forever. Her determination and strength gave birth to the civil rights movement.

Parks was wrongly incarcerated and humiliated for not giving up her bus seat. Word spread in the communities of Montgomery, and change became the mission. After a year of a nationwide boycott of public buses, the course of history changed. On November 13, 1956, segregation of buses was deemed unconstitutional, allowing anyone to sit wherever they pleased.

As the daughter of two Pakistani immigrants, I have been truly inspired by this act of courage and change. The efforts and actions of Rosa Parks have paved the way for youth like me to be able to stand up for what is right and challenge the injustices in the world. The wondrous opportunities that I am presented with are a result of a movement that a woman had the strength to begin. I can proudly say that I live in a nation where diversity is celebrated and possibilities for a better future are endless.

Sojourner Truth
by Grace Segars
Grace Christian High School
Staunton, Virginia

History is a slave — a slave dominated by time, by men and conquerors, by blind force and brutality. History is written by the victors, prostituted by the imaginative, alchemized by the idealists, and ignored by the progressive. But for those denied the right to history, for the oppressed and the enslaved — for women like Sojourner Truth — history is a record of injustice. History is a springboard for actions.

Born in Swartekill, New York, in 1797, Sojourner Truth was both a woman and a slave. She spent much of her life traded from master to master: sold four times, guaranteed freedom once, and maltreated in each situation. But Sojourner Truth’s story is not the story of a victim. Though she fled from slavery in 1826 — taking justice into her own hands — she was not a vigilante. She was a revolutionary, a pioneer; she claimed the history that her social position withheld from her and rewrote it.

Women in the nineteenth century were given no choice; they were born into their religion, educated according to their social status, married into their surname, and remembered fondly only for their compliance and docility. Slaves were even further limited in questions of gods, schools and spouses. But Sojourner Truth resisted both cultural barriers. She was self-named — born Isabella Baumfree, but turned "Sojourner" in 1843 after becoming a Methodist. "The Spirit calls me, and I must go," she said, beholden no more to an earthly authority mandating she be the Anglican, stationary Isabella of her past.

Sojourner Truth carved out choices for herself from an abyss of nothingness. She preached not only for the rights of slaves, but for women as well. An Amazon, a tower of African authority and strength — she was a crusader for women’s suffrage and the contemporary of other women activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Her most well-remembered speech, delivered in 1851, declared with defiant gusto, "Ain’t I a woman?" Her explanation for equality was one pulled from experience; her strength thrived in her oppression.

Society was too small for Sojourner Truth. Though disadvantaged, enslaved and victimized, she seized history from the hands of men and conquerors — grabbed hold of the springboard — and jumped.

The Dawn of a New Age: Zora Neale Hurston
by Catherine Dominic
SuccessTech Academy
Cleveland, Ohio

Dawn. When has the "dawn" ever looked so stunning? This dawn has captivated the intricate minds of our society. We have seen her, the beautiful canvas of pure African-American lineage, as a fantastic mind filled with soul. She has influenced culture with her flawless lines of literature. Can we handle being exposed to such perfection? What is this wonder that spanned nine years only to perish in poverty, leaving behind such an influential legacy? This dawn, this phenomenon, is the uniquely crafted work of Zora Neale Hurston.

Living up to the name of the dawn can be challenging. To be given a name with such meaning was a blessing in disguise to Hurston. She must have discovered early in her life the passion behind this responsibility. She gilded the Harlem Renaissance with such honorary titles as Their Eyes Were Watching God, Jonah’s Gourd Vine, and Mules and Men. These wondrous compilations of African-American literature helped set the Harlem Renaissance aglow. Her artistic fervor has been critiqued and appreciated during her lifetime and posthumously. She is a lady of literature, indeed.

When one reads a Zora Neale Hurston novel, the question that arises is "art thou inspired?" Countless nations owe nothing but praise to such a leader of the African-American community of modern writing. Leadership begins with genius. Ms. Hurston deserves generous compensation for her inspiration to those who follow her path. She compels me to strive to accomplish and overcome. I want to approach her divine dawn of hopes and dreams fulfilled. Her courage and vivacity for her craft give me optimism to strive to not only approach this desirable dawn, but to break through it. I, myself, shall strive to reach the dawn Zora Neale Hurston promised as I continue to hone my own writings. Her image will be the one I see as I strive to achieve the same heights of expression she reached. I vow that nothing less than the dawn will suit me.

The Definition of a Leader: Nikki Giovanni
by Katharine Kelley
Sebring McKinley High School
Sebring, Ohio

I finished my short speech with these words: "We will prevail. We will prevail. We will prevail. We are Virginia Tech." The sound of applause beat at my eardrums as I ambled away from the podium. My students are pushing past this horror and hardship; they continue to stand strong, as I have all my life, even after 32 of our own have been stolen from us. I will continue to aid my students; this school has not been destroyed, but has been made stronger.

As I sat down, a young man, whom I’ve never met, sat down in the empty chair at my right-hand side. "Nikki," he said, "how do you have the strength to hold us together? How do you do it?" I thought for a moment while his eyes searched mine, awaiting a response, an explanation of any kind. I could never define myself, not if I had every word from every language within my grasp. I simply could not.

Despite my inability to give the student a thorough summary of myself, I couldn’t help but allow my life story to enter my thoughts. In 1967, I graduated with honors; had I not pushed myself to do so, I would not be teaching my students today. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy two years later, and I’ve raised him as well as any parents could hope to raise their children. Several organizations have honored me with distinguished awards for my work; I’ve spilled my soul onto every page I’ve ever written. My mother and sister have already left us, having been taken by lung cancer; one of my lungs has been removed due to the same disease and, ever still, I’ve had the courage to move past my nightmare and live life.

After a few minutes of pondering to myself, I had nearly forgotten about the young man seated at my side. Still, he was gazing intently at me, with a puzzled sort of look in his eyes. I knew this young man was still waiting, quite patiently, for me to speak. My eyes lifted to match his and my head turned ever so slightly toward him, and I said, "Son, my name is Yolande Cornelia Giovanni, and I have been through more than you may ever know. Here I am, carrying on. I will always carry on, and so will you."

A Truly Phenomenal Woman: Maya Angelou
by Zachary B. Miller
Buckeye High School
Medina, Ohio

Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing,
It ought to make you proud.

These lines, from Maya Angelou’s poem "Phenomenal Woman," portray her in every syllable, and each word helps to define her and her proud character. The first time I heard Ms. Angelou’s voice, I heard the voices of the ages rumbling through time; every idea is fully formed, every word lovingly presented. For a young African-American man like me, knowing about my heritage and having role models who deserve respect and honor are of the utmost importance. There are many reasons Maya Angelou’s character has become an ideal for me. But the most prominent are the quality of her work and her vivid portrayal of African-American culture.

The essence of Ms. Angelou’s work lies in her remarkable writing style and artful word choice. Each poem is a masterpiece created so it will roll off the tongue like water on the beach … the rhythm rising, then falling. The language she uses lets the reader see every detail. Each book is described with such grace and flow that the reader feels all of the emotions emanating from the characters and experiences each triumph or personal loss. From the beginning of every poem or story, the reader is drawn into Ms. Angelou’s world.

These same works also offer a glimpse into African-American culture. In A Song Flung Up To Heaven and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, she writes about racial injustices and, in her own way, explains what it means to be African American. Every day is a struggle to overcome hardships or an opportunity to be grateful, and Ms. Angelou shows her readers that love and friendship are our best defenses and greatest blessing.

As I read the last lines of "Phenomenal Woman," I consider how fortunate are those people who have met Maya Angelou. I probably never will, yet I feel profoundly affected by her voice and her literary works. Ms. Angelou has shown me a whole new perspective on what I thought I knew about my African-American culture … my cultural pride, my history, my black side. Even though I may never get the chance to know Maya Angelou, she has given me the chance to know myself better.