Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 10-6-17

Features
Psychiatrist To Participate In Charitable ‘Dancing With The Stars’
Jack & Jill’s Historically Black College Fair Connects Students To Higher Learning Opportunities
Dr. Marketa Wills is putting the final bit of polish on her dancing shoes in preparation of Saturday’s (Oct. 7th) “Dancing With The Stars 2017: Bollywood Edi- tion.” The event will be held at TPepin Hospitality Centre, at 6 p. m., to help raise needed funds for the Julie Weintraub’s Hands Across the Bay charitable event.
Dr. Wills, Corporate Medical Director for Well- Care Health Plans, is one of 10 “celebrity” dancers who will participate. More than 80 were nominated. She’s hoping to be a winner. The “celebrity” dancers were paired with dancers from The Hip Room Studio.
“I have a couple more dance practices,” she said earlier in the week, “I have my costume and I’m excited and ready to go,” she said.
DR. MARKETA WILLS ...To participate in charita- ble “Dancing With The Stars 2017: Bollywood Edition.”
However, Dr. Wills says it is not about the dancing,
which she expects to be a lot of fun, “It’s about raising awareness for these impor- tant causes,” she said.
In addition to Hands Across the Bay, among other charities that will benefit are: Domestic Violence Against Women, Habitat for Human- ity, Bikers Against Child Abuse, Pepin Academy and Project No Label.
Online voting has been ongoing since July and Dr. Wills is hopeful that she generated enough interest to drive folks to the website for giving. Family and friends will be in town to support her.
Other prizes that can be won are: ‘Best Female Dancer’ and ‘Crowd Favorite.’
For last minute voting (until Oct. 6th), go to www.dancingforcharity.com/ Marketa-Wills.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – On Sunday, September 17, 2017, more than 250 students from Tampa Bay communi- ties participated in the Histor- ically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) College Fair.
The inaugural event was hosted by the Suncoast Chap- ter Teens of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. at Shorecrest Preparatory School in St. Pe- tersburg.
The purpose of the fair was to provide students an oppor- tunity to speak face-to-face with college recruiters and alumni to help them decide which school they might at- tend. The affair was also a chance to increase commu- nity awareness about the value of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
“Support of Historically Black Colleges and Universi- ties is part of Jack and Jill’s national program thrust which aims to help students explore a variety of higher learning opportunities and in- crease cultural awareness,” says Jack and Jill of America Teen Sponsor, Dr. Nathalia Jeffrey-Fort.
The event featured 20+ HBCU college recruiters and alumni, including Spelman College, Howard University, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Fisk Uni- versity, Tennessee State Uni- versity, South Carolina State University, Tuskegee Univer- sity, and Florida A&M Univer- sity.
During the event, atten- dees heard from a panel of current and recent HBCU graduates. Panelists discussed their college experience, while highlighting the importance of higher education at an HBCU.
Lawanda Johnson
credits her undergraduate ed- ucation at a historically black college for shaping who she is as a person.
“Everything about Florida A&M University and my expe- rience there helped motivate me to become the woman I am today,” said Johnson, one of the alumni on hand to represent her alma mater dur- ing the panel conversation. Johnson graduated from Florida A&M University and earned her Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership at
Argosy University. She is cur- rently an Assistant Principal at Seminole Middle School.
The gym was filled with dozens of students who were eager to meet with recruiters. Many students traveled as far as Orlando and flooded the FAMU recruiter table, pep- pering him with questions about their college experience and taking home literature touting the school’s history and admissions statistics.
Representatives from Shorecrest Preparatory School were also in atten- dance to answer questions and provide families in atten- dance with information about its PK-12 program.
Community partners in- cluded members of the Divine Nine, St. Petersburg Chapter of The Links, Inc., AKA AKADemy, Mt. Zion Prep 101, Shorecrest Preporatory and sponsors Dr. Nathalia Jef- frey-Fort and Dr. Kenyon Fort.
The event culminated with a panel conversation hosted by the AKA AKAdemy. James Jackson, Jr., Howard University alumni, and Evyan Williams, South Carolina State alumni, mod- erated the discussion about Black college lifestyle.
Panelists included: Keonna Welch, Florida A&M University alumni; Brandi Williams-Miller, Bethune-Cookman University alumni; Mara Brody, Bethune-Cookman University student; Maiya Fudge, Bethune-Cookman University student; James Jackson, III, South Carolina State Uni- versity alumni; Tenesha Bryan, Florida A&M Univer- sity alumni; and Lawanda Johnson, Florida A&M Uni- versity alumni.
Cheryl Bradbury, presi- dent of Suncoast Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc. acknowledged event partici- pants, partners and sponsors. She graciously closed out the program asking the audience to participate in a special mo- ment of silence to honor and remember Carole Robert- son, one of the four girls killed during the 1963 bomb- ing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.
For more informa- tion, visit JackandJillSun- coast.org.
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