Page 22 - Florida Sentinel 9-25-15 Edition

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Middleton Grad Aspires To Become President Of The United States
Young Artist, 22, Publishes First Children’s Book
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
When Anas- tasia Magloire signed up last fall for a children’s book illustration class in her senior year at the Savan- nah College of Art and Design, she thought it was just to meet the requirements needed to earn her degree in illustra- tion.
ANASTASIA MAGLOIRE
From left to right: Ronrico Smith; Dr. Tobe Johnson, Morehouse College Chairman Emeritus Political Science and Professor for 57 years, and his former student, Ira J. Johnson, a former White House Liaison, U. S. Federal Government Legal mediator/Civil Rights In- vestigator.
Ronrico Smith, a former Head Start student from Potter Elementary, credits his teach- ers, Bobby Henderson and Marie Miller and principals, Brenda Thompson and Oryan Speed for inspiring him to complete high school and attend college.
Smith attended Middleton High School and graduated in 2014 in the top 10th percentile of his class with a 5.3 GPA. He is currently attending More- house College to receive a B.S. degree in Political Science with a concentration in Pre-Law.
“I have always been fasci- nated by the complexity and structure of the United States government and my passion continues to grow every day so I think about a potential future in government,” said Smith.
“I believe Morehouse Col- lege will offer me the best col- lege experience to help me progress on my path to achievement. After graduating I plan on attending Harvard Law School to receive a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. From there I would like to practice law in the state of Georgia, or work closely with the White House Administration as a liai- son.”
Smith said he wants to eventually run for the U.S. House of Representatives or possibly the U.S. Senate. After a substantial amount of time in that position, he will then con- tinue on to campaign in a pres- idential election to become the President of the United States.
“One thing I’ve come to re- alize is that this will be a great feat in my life, and persever- ance will need to be a number one virtue on my list, along with the full integrity of doing the right things in life. I’m not going to allow the shenanigans to set me off track.
“No life would be absolute without obstacles and hard- ships, but here’s a difference when you surround yourself with proactive and mature peo- ple, instead of people who are going to try to pull you down and keep you from reaching your highest potential.”
Smith said he’s happy that his academic integrity has held strong for many years and he surely plans on keeping his mindset in pristine condition.
“Fellow peers and adults have always complimented me on my citizenship, and that’s because I go out and beyond to establish a strong comradeship with my fellow peers and adults to endure a lasting rela- tionship.”
Smith said he gives special thanks to his mother, Kashunda Brown, his fa- ther, Ronrico Smith, and his grandparents, Clarence and Fannie Brown.
“I also owe a lot to a few teachers from my childhood, including Dr. Derstine, Ms. Jennifer Cadmus, Dr. Marilyn Reed Loback and more recently, Mr. Michael Oratowski, who was my STEM networking teacher at Middleton.”
Little did Ms. Magloire, 22, know that tak- ing the class would lead to her becoming an au- thor.
In August, Ms. Magloire published her first children’s book.
The story is based on Outa Karel’s South African folktale “The Sun and the Star’s Road,” but the characters are Ms. Magloire’s own.
Ms. Magloire, who graduated in May, said she never imagined that writing children’s books would be part of her career.
In the book, Naledi (Naladee) is a young South African girl who loves the sun.
Nighttime frightens Naledi and it’s difficult for her to understand why her brother, Noli, cannot appreciate the sun as she does. It’s only after hearing a story from their grandfather does Naledi learn that her beloved sun is, indeed, a star.
Ms. Magloire said she knew almost in- stantly after reading the folktale that she wanted to base her book on it. But going from concept to published book wasn’t an easy process, Ms. Ma- gloire said.
“I was challenged,” she said. “There were so many steps to making a children’s book.”
The first, the writing of the manuscript, proved to be less tedious for Ms. Magloire, a Land O’ Lakes resident, because she had based the book’s story on the African folktale.
The real work was in creating the characters, she said.
In addition to giving them physical features, Ms. Magloire said she also had to develop their personalities and draw them interacting with each other.
Collectively, the pages had to “have a rhythm to them,” meaning the illustrations and storyline had to match exactly for each page, Ms. Ma- gloire said.
At the end of her class, Ms. Magloire had 17
Book Cover
“The Sun and the Star’s Road”
pages of the book completed. It wasn’t a require- ment that she finish the book, but Ms. Magloire said she felt compelled to do so.
“I had to understand that this wasn’t just for me,” she said. “I’m trying to inspire others.”
Finding a publisher proved to be an even more tedious process.
Without an agent, Ms. Magloire didn’t have the access needed to get the attention of tradi- tional publishers.
After months of submitting her book to pub- lishers but not getting any serious interest, Ms. Magloire’s mother suggested she self-publish it.
“It was great to have her in my corner like that because I was getting discouraged,” she said. With her mother’s help, Ms. Magloire dis- covered Page Publishing, a publishing house that helps new and unknown authors get their works
to print.
After going through a submission process,
Ms. Magloire’s book was accepted. It’s now available for purchase online on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles.
“I definitely realized that going the traditional route would have lots of compromises to my work,” she said.
The publisher will assist Ms. Magloire with marketing and promotion of the book.
Ms. Magloire said she’s hoping to do some book signings.
In the meantime, Ms. Magloire said she’s already begun to work on her second book where the main character is another young Black girl.
However, she’s still pursuing her original dream of being a concept artist in the television and film industry.
But telling stories and creating characters that inspire young Black girls is fulfilling as well, Ms. Magloire said.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 13-A