Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 3-22-16 Edition

Features
6th Annual STEM Professional Association Event Planned
Author, Illustrator Debuts Children’s Book
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Three Hillsborough County schools will host the 6th An- nual STEM Professional Asso- ciation Event” on Thursday, march 24th, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Bay Area Manufactur- ers Association.
The event will take place at Middleton High School, 4801 N. 22nd Street. It will be held in the Media Center located on the second floor of the Admin- istration Building 100.
Dr. Nancee Sorenson,
President of the Brandon Campus Hillsborough Com- munity College, will serve as the guest speaker. Her topic is “Upward Mobility In STEM Careers.”
The schools hosting the event are Middleton High School, a Pre-Collegiate STEM Academy, Stewart Middle Magnet School, and Young Middle Magnet School. The purpose of the event is to con- nect students, parents, educa- tors, and professionals in order to promote student in- terest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers.
Some of the Organizations invited to participate in this year’s STEM Professional As- sociation Event are: the Amer- ican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); American Society of Mechanical Engi-
DR. NANCEE SORENSON
neers (ASME), USF Student Chapter; American Society for Quality (ASQ); Bay Area Asso- ciation of Medical Instrumen- tation (BAAMI); Bay Area Manufacturers Association (BAMA); Brewster Technical College, Industrial Machinery Maintenance Program; Florida Advanced Technologi- cal Education Center (FLATE); Florida Medical Manufacturers Consortium (FMMC); Florida Trade Ad- vanced Manufacturing; Insti- tute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), USF Student Chapter; and the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI).
The Middleton’s Electrathon Car, powered only by commer- cial rechargeable batteries, will be on display. The vehicle was designed and built by stu- dents.
The Middleton High School Robotics Club will also con- duct a demonstration.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
An illustrator, graphic de- signer, author, husband and father of 2, debuted his first children’s book this past weekend at a local book store.
Calvin Reynolds hosted a meet and greet for his book, Jayce, A Bee Adventure.
Jayce is a courageous hon- eybee without a stinger. In order to save his home colony, Beetopia, Jayce embarks on a desperate but amazing adven- ture with his friends, Dex and Lilly. In a race against time, they must retrieve the magical Nectcia Jewel from the clutches of the diabolical wasps led by King Zeek. During their incredible journey, Jayce discovers his inner greatness and learns the value of teamwork and friend- ship.
The book also promotes self- esteem, anti-bullying, hero- ism, diversity, problem solving, social skills and char- acter development. Reynolds hopes the book makes kids of all ages laugh and encourages reading.
At an early age, Reynolds developed a love for the Arts. However, it wasn’t until his
CALVIN REYNOLDS
high school years that he made a commitment to pur- sue his love of art. He at- tended the prestigious Ringling College of Arts and Design.
After earning the Bachelor’s of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Illustration, Reynolds pro- vided professional illustra- tions and graphic designs for over 2 decades for Fortune 500 companies, such as VF Imagewear. Through Im- agewear, he produced graph- ics for NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA, ESPN; and for his per- sonal favorites – Star Wars, Marvel Comics and Disney.
Encouraged by the desire to
Jayce Bookcover
reach the youth, Reynolds has returned to his humble be- ginnings of “creating chil- dren’s stories that capture the imagination and foster a love or reading and art.” For the past 12 years, he has visited several schools in Hillsbor- ough County “to speak to youth about the importance of believing in yourself and never give up on your gift.”
For his talents, Reynolds has received several awards. In 2013, he received the Peer Recognition Award from VF Imagewear/LSG.
To find out more about Reynolds and Jayce, A Bee Adventure, go to www.jaycethebee.com.
Faith And Help Of Others Saved Teen’s Life
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
Marleshia Warren, 15, said from the day she was born, she doesn’t recall seeing much of her father around. So, growing up in Jacksonville, Florida with a single parent and four siblings was some- thing a lot of people in her community didn’t pay a lot of attention to.
What they didn’t see was a mother who was dealing with mental health issues, and was in no shape, mentally or phys- ically, to raise five children.
So, at the age of 10, Mar- leshia found herself taking over as head of the household and raising her siblings.
“I began to get frustrated, and to make matters worse, I lost the two most important people in life during that pe- riod, my grandparents.”
“As a strong young girl, I went on with life. On my jour- ney as a young adult, I had to face a lot of challenges in life that I shouldn’t have faced.
“I thought I’d be alright with the responsibility of taking care of my siblings, but when things started to get hard with school, family loss, and taking care of my siblings, the whole things became stressful for me. I knew deep down I was broken like shattered glass; so broken, so depressed that I
MARLESHIA WARREN
was ready and willing to take my precious life.
Marleshia said that’s when God began to bless her.
“When I moved to Tampa to live with my father, that be- came a big life changer for me, because that’s when I met peo- ple that really cared about me.
“It all started with the bless- ing from above when I met my second mother, Alberta Ce- lestin.”
Marleshia said when Ms. Celestin started showing her she was truly a woman of her word she began to see what love truly is.
“Then came a big inspira- tion in my life that blessed me a lot. That was the Young Lions Youth Organization.
“In this organization, I met two people that I love, Mr. Dexter Bryant, and Ms.
Bridgett Green. The two have taught me that there will be hard times in life, but I had to be strong enough to get through wherever life takes me. They also taught me that it’s alright to ask when you don’t have, no matter what it is.”
Marleshia said she felt if it was 3 a.m., she knew Mr. Bryant and Ms. Green would answer.
“Among the activities with the Young Lions, I met others with lifestyles similar to mine. That’s when I realized what loyalty and love was really about.
Marleshia said her real re- lationship, however, is with God, and her spiritual parents, Pastors James and Angela Scruggs.
Bryant said Marleshia’s story is one of many they are confronted with at Young Lions.
“It’s the primary reason we work so hard to help young people and seek sponsors to help keep our program alive.”
Marleshia said she hopes to reunite with her mother in the future, and her siblings are now in the care of an aunt in Jacksonville.
“My advice to any young person out there facing these kind of circumstances is to seek out help, and believe in God.”
PAGE 2 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2016