The Black Scholars Index » Getting Tenure

Taylor Yarborough: Freshman Spelman Student & Tavis Smiley Foundation Honoree

Leshell Hatley — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:53:38 +0000

Taylor Yarborough, a freshman, pre-med/biology major at Spelman, was among 100 young adults honored recently by the Tavis Smiley Foundation for being an example of positive youth engagement, volunteerism, community service and leadership. The New Orleans native was presented with a $5,000 scholarship at the Foundation’s annual Salute to Youth Leadership Benefit and Auction in Los Angeles, CA.

Taylor is also currently serving a three year term as a member of the Tavis Smiley Foundation’s National Youth Advisory Council, and has received several scholarships including, but not limited to, the UNCF/NAACP Agness Jones scholarship and the NextGen Scholarship.

A talented writer and Spelman Glee Club member, Taylor graduated with honors from Lusher Charter School in New Orleans, where she also received a certificate of artistry in creative writing. She is a contributing poet for the Guernica Online Magazine of Art and Politics, and contributing author for Hope, Change and Obama (NLS Publishing).

The daughter of Courtney Nelson and Gason Nelson, a personal chef for New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush, Taylor is considering a career in sports medicine, and is currently a trainer for the Morehouse College football team.

Tavis Smiley Foundation’s Youth to Leader (2008)

Information obtained from Spelman’s website.

BSI mourns Jasmin Lynn, Spelman Student who died this morning

Leshell Hatley — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:58:19 +0000

Jasmin Lynn

The Black Scholars Index mourns the death of Jasmin Lynn, a Spelman University student who was killed earlier this morning by a stray bullet. Below is a message for Spelman’s President….

“I am very sorry to inform you of the death of a Spelman student, Jasmine Lynn C’2012.Words cannot express the sadness I feel about the tragic loss of Jasmine’s life, the result of senseless violence. Jasmine was an innocent bystander struck by gunfire early this morning in the vicinity of the CAU Commons. On behalf of the entire Spelman College community, I want to express our deepest sympathy to Jasmine’s family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time of grief. The Spelman College flag will be flown at half-mast today in Jasmine’s honor. We will share information regarding funeral services as soon as it is available.”

With deep sorrow,
Beverly Daniel Tatum
http://speakupspelman.blogspot.com/2009/09/spelman-college-mourns-death-of.html

Jonecia Keels: Computer Science Junior @ Spelman, One to watch!

Leshell Hatley — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:54:48 +0000

Keels with the inspiration for her iPhone App

SpelBots co-captain Jonecia Keels, C’2011 at Spelman College, dreams of starting a computer software company that creates revolutionary applications for mobile and computing platforms. The dual-degree engineering major is well on her way to making that dream come true.

Keels has created the hugely popular iPhone app, iDex, for gamers of the Pokemon game franchise. According to Keels, iDex gets downloaded 1,500 times a day worldwide. Since its release, the Pokemon app remains on the Top 25 list of more than 2,600 apps in the reference category. One of 25 students chosen to participate in the Cocoa Camp at Apple to create iPhone apps, Keels is currently working on her second iPhone app while creating updates to iDex. “What started as a fun little side project for me turned into this ridiculously successful worldwide application,” she said. “The best part is receiving emails from people around the world who appreciate my creation.”

Left to right: Jonecia, Dr. Andrew Williams, Jazmin, Mimi, Tajiana

The Spelbots, the undergraduate Robotics Team at Spelman University lead by Dr. Andrew Williams (now chair of the Computer Science Department), won many awards and competitions over the last several years. They are the first all-women and African American undergraduate team to compete in the International RoboCup Four-Legged Soccer Competition in Osaka, Japan (2005) and Bremen, Germany (2006). The won 2nd place in 2007 and tied for 1st in 2009.
Watch recaps of these last two competitions below:

2009: 1st Place Tie

2007: 2nd Place ‘Passing Challenge’

Youngest Black Female Pilot: Kimberly Anyadike

Leshell Hatley — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:05:12 +0000

Today, we elected to showcase a different type of feature. This one highlights an incredible feet from a young Lady who has made history!

A 15-year-old Los Angeles girl has become the youngest African-American female pilot to fly solo cross country.

Kimberly Anyadike landed a single-engine Cessna to cheering crowds at Compton Woodley Airport this past Saturday. She took off from Compton 13 days before with an adult safety pilot and Levi Thornhill, an 87-year-old who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. They flew to Newport News, Va., making about a dozen stops along the way.

Anyadike learned to fly when she was 12 at Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum, an after-school program that offers aviation lessons to at-risk youth [BSI doesn't agree with that descriptive phrase at all].

[From NBCLosAngeles.com]

An interview before take-off…

And we are happy that she talks about high cognitive abilities in African-American and the assumptions against them in the video above.

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