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PUBLISHER’S VOICE
COMMON GROUND: COLLABORATING FOR THE FUTURE OF GIRLS If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. AFRICAN PROVERB A TRAVEL CLUB FOR GIRLS COULD BE FUN, I thought. I would name it the Merze Tate Travel Club. Tate was a Michigan native who started her own travel club in 1928, while teaching high school at Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis, Ind. Among her many accomplishments she was a graduate of Western Michigan University, the first African American graduate of Oxford University and international scholar. The Kalamazoo Community Foundation liked my idea and would give my grass-roots effort a $2,000 Good Neighbor Grant if I could get an organization to serve as my fiduciary. That was in 2008.
Girls Can! collaborators from left: Margaret Best, Michelle Stempien Lisa Rodriguiez, Denise Miller,Sarah Nemire, Pamela Roland, Belinda Tate, Melisa Beason, Cherise Thomas, Sonia Eden and Yolonda Lavender.
Since then, not only have organizations and businesses saw the vision, they have helped catapult us to new heights. Together girls have experienced many firsts such as flying in planes, riding on trains, trolleys and sailboats. They have become movie producers and published authors. The Greg Jennings Foundation partners as an International Ambassador Sponsor, sending two of our students to France. Belinda Tate, executive director of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts opened their doors to take us even further. She challenged me to not only highlight what we do, but to invite other organizations dedicated to empowering girls to collaborate in our annual Girls Can! Magazine unveiling event. How could I refuse? After all, some of those very organizations helped us go to places we could not have alone. We recently became the Merze Tate Explorers and an official nonprofit organization because of all those who gave in so many ways to help us go further. Thank you all! See you online! Sonya Bernard-Hollins- Publisher Founder of Merze Tate Explorers
Community Voices is published quarterly by Season Press LLC, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Free issues are available throughout West Michigan. Subscriptions are available. No parts of this magazine may be reproduced without permission.
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Volume 04, Issue 03 Founders Arlene & James Washington (2005-2010) Publisher Season Press LLC (2010-) Editor-In-Chief Sonya Bernard-Hollins Graphic Design/Cover Photo Fortitude Graphic Design Reporters/Photographers Travel Writers Tori Zackery Sanaa Olivacce-Shabazz Contributing Videographer Stanley Steppes Money Smart Kids Community Voices * P.O. Box 51042 Kalamazoo, MI 49005* 269-365-4019 www.comvoicesonline.com
Travel Writers Academy Explorers 2015
Kymeil Beard 4th Grade Most Focused
Kendall Connors 5th Grade Best Audition
Maya Daniels 7th Grade Most Inquisitive
Tayla Dillard 4th Grade Prompt Award
ZyNya Dodd 6th Grade Best Friend
Riley Francis 4th Grade Most Congenial
Shadae Hillsman 6th Grade Best Smile
Sasha Hollins 4th Grade Best Future Travel Partner
Syann Hollins 7th Grade Most Organized
Kennedy Hudson 4th Grade Best Roommate
Lydia Rose 5th Grade Best Roommate
Alayna Kuhn 4th Grade Future Entrepreneur
Shemaiah Lawler 7th Grade Best Videographer
Shi’Terriona Straham 10th Grade Future 7 Continent Ambassador
Layla Wallace 4th Grade Best Laugh
Claire Khabeiry 11th Grade International Ambassador
Natasha Mahonie Kynnedi Patterson 11th Grade 3rd Grade International Ambassadors Most Energetic
Aliah Ward 4th Grade Best Future Travel Partner
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Sierra Ward 7th Grade Most Motivational
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EXPLORING the
The Merze Tate Explorers discover new and exciting things and interview amazing people along the way...taking photos and writing about it.
POSSIBILITIES 6
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By Sonya Bernard-Hollins Founder-Merze Tate Explorers
G
oing to South Haven to enjoy Lake Michigan with family is something many in Southwest Michigan have experienced. But, how many have helped hoist the sails on the Friends Good Will Tall Ship as it bobs along on the rough waters? And, how many have strapped on face masks to sand the wings of a WWII fighter plane that was rescued from the bottom of the lake after nearly 70 years?
Those are just some of the unique adventures the 21 young women of the Merze Tate Explorers’ summer Travel Writers Academy experienced. On July 12, parents helped make their daughters’ dorm rooms on the campus of Kalamazoo College like home. They would be there for six days to meet amazing trailblazers, discover history and do things they never dreamed possible. Whether they were third graders or preparing to head off to college, they all were journalists assigned to write, photograph or videotape their adventures while working as a team. On the other side of the Atlantic, two Explorers became the first two Travel Writers to venture to France for a 30-day cultural exchange
program with the help of the Greg Jennings Foundation. In this 3rd Annual Girls Can! Magazine issue, the girls share highlights of some of their most memorable moments in order to inspire you to venture out into your community and the world to find your place, and explore the possibilities.
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By Syann Hollins
T
he Travel Writers Academy begins before we move into the dorms.
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A few months before the academy, girls who sent in applications come in for an interview audition. This year it was at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. Girls were given the name of an exhibit in the museum to learn about in only 15 minutes. Then, they had to give a report at the reporter’s desk right there in the museum–with everyone watching!
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A total of 20 girls were selected to become travel writers and begin training. We first met at Western Michigan University’s Bronco Mall to learn how to use cameras and video equipment loaned to us by Public Media Network. We then were off to cover the annual Greg Jennings Football and Cheer Camp at Kalamazoo Central High School. When we walked into the stadium we saw hundreds of kids playing football and chanting cheers. When we came in with our big cameras everybody wondered who we were. We felt famous because Greg Jennings came to escort us to meet his wife, Nicole. Maya and I took a selfie with Mr. Jennings, but my face was blocked off in the shot...lesson number-one, get your subject in the frame!
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Our next assignment was to interview Sharon Carlson, director of the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collection. Their beautiful new building on Oakland Drive is where the archives of Merze Tate are kept. We put on gloves and looked at the original scrapbooks Tate left to WMU when she died in 1996. She had photographs from her trips around the world! We learned about archiving photos and took photos and video of what we learned. I interviewed Mrs. Carlson, she gave us a tour of the new building and then treated us to pizza! We were now ready to start the academy!
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My First Dorm Room By Tayla Dillard
Me on my Hello Kitty pillow posing with my roommate, Kymeil in our Kalamazoo College dorm room in DeWaters Hall.
I had my things in my dad’s car then I arrived at the dorm at Kalamazoo College. The first thing we did was go to a table where Mrs. Jaye Johnson checked me in. We made sure all of our papers were signed and then got a bag with all of our shirts we would wear all week. Then, I had to sign for the key to my room, #108 and put it on a lanyard with my name on it, My mom, dad and my brother Thomas, then helped me take all of my things to my room. Because I got to the room before my roommate, I picked the bed on the end by the bathroom. My mom wiped the plastic mattress and then we put on my sheets and pillow. I put my teddy bear on my bed and everything was put away. Then, my roommate came. Her name was Kymeil. I knew her from our Girl Scout troop. After everyone was set up in their room, we all came back into the lounge area and Mrs. Hollins talked about what we would be doing for the week. She asked if parents had any questions
and then we all prayed for a safe week. Parents hugged their kids and some parents looked like they wanted to cry. After everyone was settled we had pizza from Little Caesars. We then played some games to get to know each other and talked about what our week would be like. We were all excited. When it was time for bed, we wanted to take our sleeping bags into our friends’ room and sleep with them, but Mrs. Hollins said we had to sleep in our own room. So, we did. The next day our counselor woke us up for exercise–at 6:30 a.m. After exercise we ate a good breakfast made by Mrs. Justina Franklin and headed out to do our interviews at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. We worked on our map quizzes in teams and had fun. We had dinner and went to bed.
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Living @ K We all posed on the steps of Mandelle Hall at Kalamazoo College while waiting for our next adventure.
By Kynnedi Patterson & Layla Wallace Edited by Shi’Terriona Straham The dorms at Kalamazoo College are fun to play, sit, talk, and bring people in to visit. It’s like our house. We get to bring in blankets, pillows, slippers, clothes and our own sleeping bags. We have to bring fans because their is no air conditioning in the dorms.
Working out with On the Move.
Everyone has their own keys to open, close and lock the doors. We have closets to put our clothes in and we can also put shoes in there too. Our room is a suite. That means we share a bathroom with the girls in the room connected to ours–so, we knock before we enter the bathrooms. We have to bring towels, everything, just like we would when we really go to college one day. Mrs. Franklin makes us the best breakfast and dinners. In the mornings we do workouts with ladies from On the Move.
The Red team was in charge of setting the table.
In the dorm we have fun talking to our friends and playing games like tag. Our favorite part about the dorms is that we were able to have our own keys. I love doing new things at the dorms.
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Justina Franklin volunteered as our chef for the week and made delcious meals every day!
Kalamazoo College is now Kalamazoo Promise eligible!
MoreMore ininFour. a Lifetime. For Admission information call 269.337.7166 or www.kzoo.edu
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Ultimate Role Models On the first day of official reporting, the travel writers set up a press-conference style interview blitz with some of the leading female leaders in Southwest Michigan. We wanted to know what inspires them and their goals for the girls they serve. Organizations represented include the Links Inc., YWCA, Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan and Girls on the Run. ZyNya Dodd interviewed Belinda Tate, executive director of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts and Shadae Hillsman profiled Yolonda Lavender executive director of the Black Arts and Cultural Center. Here are a few highlights from those interviews.
By ZyNya Dodd & Shadae Hillsman
Belinda Tate is the executive director of the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts. Tate was the top choice in a national search to succeed KIA’s former executive director, James Bridenstine. She is the first African American to have this position at the KIA. She started the job on September 8, 2014. Before she came to Kalamazoo she was the director of the Diggs Gallery in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Yolonda Lavender is a singer, song writer and the executive director of the Black Arts Cultural Center (BACC). As a song writer she likes to write her own music. She has two albums. She says that the first time she sung a solo was when she was five years old in her church choir. For Lavender, singing is a “therapeutic process.” She says she likes a little bit of every kind of music.
She was born in Winston-Salem and went to North Carolina State University. She earned a degree in history. She loves art and travel and has been to 17 countries.
Her job as executive director of the BACC started when Buddy Hannah, president of the board, and Sidney Ellis, the organization’s then executive director, asked her if she wanted the position. She said yes.
Belinda is the person in the right place to lead the KIA into the future . She is a good role model and I want to be just like her. Learn more about Tate and the KIA at: www.kiarts. org www.comvoicesonline.com 12 | FALL 2015
Her mission for the BACC is to let people know that what they do is for the community. In her job she has to be an artist as well as a business women. Learn more about the BACC at: blackartskazoo.org
Unleash her imagination, talent, and creativity.
Art Detectives Interactive Gallery Year-round Art Classes* Friday Teen Nights College Portfolio Day Teen Film Festival
Young Artists Exhibition High School Area Show Summer Art Camps* Family Activity Guides Parent & child classes* * Scholarships available
By Shi-Terriona Straham and Aliah Ward
The ride on the Friends Good Will was really amazing. When we boarded the ship at Maritime Museum in South Haven, we were prepared for a cruise around Lake Michigan. “Before the boat ride the captain gave us instructions on how to properly ride on the boat,” said Aliah Ward. After a tour of the museum we were excited to float by the beautiful homes along the lake, people along the beach and others who were walking along the pier. The ride was not as scary as I thought; it was actually extremely relaxing–except for the water that made its way over the side of the ship to splash us. “We were going up and down and there were a few of us who were afraid because we felt like we were going to fall overboard. The captain told us to sit down to make sure we were safe. I thought we were going to tip over,” Aliah said. But, before we knew it, the captain said we had to turn around and head back. The winds were getting stronger and the waves were so choppy that we had to hold on not to fall over. Once we got back to the dock of the Maritime Museum, we stayed on board and learned more about sailing. The crew split us up into groups where we learned how to use a compass and steer the ship. Next, we and went under the ship to see the sleeping quarters and cook’s area. In the last station we were able to hoist the sail and played a game of Tug of War to get the sails back down. Everyone really enjoyed that and didn’t want to stop.
Aliah and captain give signal to move ahead! From left, Ambassador leaders Shi’Terriona Straham, Mylesha Crim and Arianna Dickason.
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By Kayla Raymond
Thanks to the Hammond Family Fund for three years of inspiring girls to succeed! 1600 Douglas Avenue * Kalamazoo, MI * 49007 * www.hammondroto.com www.comvoicesonline.com
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WHY NOT TRAVEL?
D
uring my winter break from school earlier in the year, I applied for a $2,000 study abroad planning grant offered by Michigan State University. It was more of a “why not?” decision fueled by boredom than me believing that studying abroad my freshman year was really an option. Traveling has always been a passion of mine and I was sure that international schooling would become an eventual part of my college career, but never would I have guessed that I could take on the world at the age of 19. When I got the email notification that I was an award recipient, chills ran down my back. But still, it didn’t exactly feel real. Even when I chose and got accepted into a program relative to my journalism major, it didn’t feel real. I was walking through an airport, struggling to find my gate among signs in a foreign language, when it hit me. I was 4,294 miles away from home, with no cellular service and fifteen students I barely knew and I couldn’t have felt more excited.
I spent two weeks in Barcelona, Spain, a week in Munich, Germany, two weeks in Berlin, Germany, and a weekend in Paris, France. When people ask me how I prepared to do such extensive traveling at a relatively short notice, I have no definite answer. No 16
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travel guides or blogs truly made me “ready” for going international. Foreign culture is something you have to immerse yourself in. However, throughout my experience I was able to refer back to skills and advice given to me through an organization who’s sole purpose was to teach the importance of traveling. I joined the Merze Tate Travel Club the summer after my sixth grade year. The attractive name of the group lured me in with promises of exploring outside of my hometown of Kalamazoo. It was much to my surprise, and at the time disappointment, when I realized our focus would be using the teachings of world traveler, Merze Tate, to rediscover our own community in Kalamazoo. I didn’t realize at the time how valuable it would become to be able to look beyond the surface, of a place I’ve lived my entire life, and report on its history and secrets. Those skills separate tourists from travelers and they became extremely useful during my time in Europe. I visited concentration camps in Germany and
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local newspapers in Spain, geared with questions and a thoughtfulness that made a difference in understanding the culture. I traveled with a desire to observe and learn and I credit much of this to the Merze Tate Travel Club. I have enjoyed witnessing the program grow and continue to equip young girls with the power to travel and explore. Even when only using those skills on a small scale, it sets the foundation for bigger adventures in our future.
By Tori Zackery Paris, France
Paris, France
Mala
Travel Writers get a visit from Tori who shares her travel photos with them. She is a charter member of the Merze Tate Travel Club founded in 2008.
ga, S pain
France By Natasha Mahonie
When Claire Khabeiry and Natasha Mahonie joined the Merze Tate Travel Club as fifth graders, they traveled to area places such as Stryker Instruments. Little did they know they would someday be traveling together to France thanks to a scholarship from the Greg Jennings Foundation and Faces of America.
Claire Khabeiry and I joined the Merze Tate Travel Club in 2009. I was new to Kalamazoo and moved here for a new beginning. Joining the Travel Club was the first thing I did. Cheryl Wright, a friend of the family, took me to the first meeting. There I met Claire and learned that we attended the same school. She was my first friend here in Kalamazoo and so it was great going on our first international trip together. Mrs. Hollins was told that members of the Travel Club could receive scholarships from the Greg Jennings Foundation through AFS Faces of America International Student Exchange program. She immediately thought of Claire and I to go to France for 30 days. I had so much fun meeting new people, trying new activities, new foods, and visiting different places like Monaco and Italy. While I was there we attended French class three hours each, which we could use for 60 hours of foreign language credit during our junior year
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Claire shows off her passport, and the travelers are dropped off at Long Island University in New York to head to France.
in high school at Loy Norrix. Before this opportunity came about I had never taken a French class. I went to my counselor immediately because I thought that it would be too challenging. But when I began taking the class in France, I realized that yes, it was “foreign� to me and would be challenging. But as the weeks went on I had shown a lot of progress and my teachers were very proud of me. I learned the basics of the French language and I actually like it. Since my return home, I have still incorporated the language in my day-to-day life. After this experience I may continue taking French in school.
Natasha in Nice, France
Thank you to our amazing Ambassador Leaders! Mylesha Crim of Kalamazoo Central is cheered on by her team during the map quiz.
Arianna Dickason of Michigan State University gets a portrait drawn by artist Jerome Washington in honor of her 16th birthday.
Shi’Terriona Straham of Albion, Michigan (second from right) helps her team program a robot.
Jamaica
Our Honorary Explorer is Sanaa Olivacce-Shabazz. She recently visited Jamaica with her parents and shared some of the highlights from her trip for our Girls Can! Magazine edition. She is a student at Gull Lake Schools and has a passion to travel the world. While in Jamaica we swam in the Blue Lagoon. The lagoon was made famous by a movie with the same title featuring Brook Shields. The water from the lagoon comes from the Blue Mountains and the salt water from the ocean, so the fresh water is on top of the warm salt water. We took a raft to Monkey Island, which has an amazing legend. My mom, dad and I stayed at Moon San Villa where we had our own personal cook and cleaning lady. We went to Winifred Beach where I was almost poked by a sea urchin. It was scary because they are poisonous. After swimming we ate authentic Jamaican Jerk Chicken, breadfruit (a plant that mainly grows in the Caribbean) and sipped on Jamaican soda. It was delicious! We rode horses, swam underneath a waterfall and spent a day in Kingston. We flew out of Jamaica from Kingston where we had an amazing view of the cities below. When I woke up, I was back in America.
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Technology + Girls = Techgyrls
Alayna Kuhn at the computer as Riley and Aliah also listen to Kate from YWCA’s Techgyrls.
By Alayna Kuhn The Merze Tate Explorers had a visit from Katie Corbit of the YWCA Techgyrls program to show us how to have fun while learning about technology. The purpose of the Techgyrls is to help encourage girls with science technology engineering and math ( STEM). YWCA started this national program in 1997 and Kalamazoo started it program in 2004. YWCA likes to help girls no matter what color she is. This program serves students that come from minority backgrounds and inner-city neighborhoods. They try to help as many girls as possible. During the visit, Katie set up the robots on the tables. She then divide us into four groups. We each had a chance to build and program the robots. Building and programing robots was really fun. You don’t have to be really good with computers to do the activities that I did (even though I am good at computers). I
programed the robots by clicking and moving the blocks together on the computer screen then pressing “download.” This made the robot move! This made me more interested in engineering. I really enjoyed being a YWCA TechGyrl!
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Shemaiah
Syann
Maya
My First Flight By Shemaiah Lawler Before I came to the Merze Tate Explorers I had never flown in a plane before. I wasn’t scared, I wasn’t nervous neither. It was fun and easy. The pilots with the Young Eagles program brought their own planes and took us up in groups to fly the skies of Kalamazoo. Another great thing was the pilot. He was super nice. He showed us how all the pilots get the plane started and ready to fly. During our 20-minute ride, he showed us all of the buttons that started the plane. He gave us great details on how the plane worked. From the sky I could see the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo, Borgess Hospital, the mall on West Main Street and even Kalamazoo College. Another thing that loved about the flight was looking at all of the trees and lakes. Some parts of the plane ride made my stomach feel tickled and weird. Maya and Syann rode with me. Maya was a bit scared at first, but she got over it. We all had fun and talked and laughed a lot. After the flight we each received a certificate for flying and a special code to learn more about flying online. The experience was great and I would love to do it again. I loved everything about it; the view, the pilot, the plane and especially being with all of the girls from the travel club.
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10 Things I Learned at the Black Wings Exhibit at the Air Zoo
Sasha Hollins
By Sasha Hollins
I learned that...
1. Chauncey Spencer and Dale White flew from Chicago to Washington D.C. in 1939. 2. John C. Robinson worked in Ethiopia until 1954, when he died in a plane crash while making an emergency delivery of blood. 3. Earning one pilot wing at Tuskegee Institute involved intensive classroom training for cadets, including Benjamin O. Davis. who was the first African American general in the U.S. Army. 4. Bessie Coleman was the first African American to earn an international pilots license in France. 5. Dr. Mae Jemison was the first African American woman in space. 6. LaShanda Holmes was the first African American woman to fly in a helicopter for the U.S. Cost Guard. 7. Captain Erwin B. lost his life while on mission against a German air base in Greece. 8. African American actress Nichelle Nicoles played in Star Trek.
9. Cornelius Coffey and Chauncey Spencer had a milestone long-distance flight. 10. In 1931, the all-Black circus included plane aerobatics and attracted a crowded estimated at 15,000.
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The Photo Adventures of Riley Francis
Counterclockwise: Me pretending to be Amelia Earhart at the Air Zoo; dad helps me set up my bed in the dorm; Mom and other moms race in the Race Around the Aisle community service project; Restoring a plane at the Air Zoo; work, work, work; Picked carrots at Pretty Lake Farm and ate them for lunch; Fun team games before climbing the wall!
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new from WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS
GREAT GIRLS IN
MICHIGAN HISTORY Patricia Majher ISBN: 9780814340738, paper, $14.99 ISBN: 9780814340745, ebook 5.5x8, 192 pages, 30 illustrations A deep-sea diver, a dancer, an activist, an aviator, a singer, and a soldier—Great Girls in Michigan History highlights some of the girls from Michigan’s past who did amazing things before they turned twenty years old. Author Patricia Majher presents easy-to-read mini-biographies of twenty girls with ties to Michigan, representing a variety of personal backgrounds and interests, locations across the state, and historical time periods. With its depictions of young women who have not typically been represented in history texts, this book will be inspirational reading for upper elementary school students (ages 8 to 12) and welcomed by Michigan schools, bookstores, and public libraries. “The girls included in this collection have diverse accomplishments and backgrounds and come from across the state. No other book focuses exclusively on the actions of Michigan’s girls. Young women reading this book will feel both the spark of curiosity to learn more about these historical figures and pride in knowing that Michigan girls achieve great things!” —Emily Fijol, ExEcutivE dirEctor oF thE michigan WomEn’s historical cEntEr and hall oF FamE
WSUPRESS.WAYNE.EDU 1-800-978-7323 Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! facebook.com/wsupress @wsupress
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Lydia Rose Johnson Before students are accepted into the Merze Tate Explorers Travel Writers Academy they must complete an application, get a letter of recommendation and write an essay. Here are a few of the essays from Explorers who were accepted as Travel Writers. Hello, my name is Lydia Rose Johnson and I am a fourth grader at Arcadia Elementary School. Mrs. Cherise Ward, a teacher at my school, talked to girls about the Travel Writers Academy. I was very excited to hear about the Academy. I would really like to be a part of this summer’s program and here are my reasons why. First, I really love to write. In fact, I plan on writing children’s books when I grow up. They will be about the crazy adventures of my two Chihuahuas. Hopefully, children will love reading my books and I will become very famous. Secondly, the Academy is a great opportunity for me to learn all kinds of things about college life and working as a team with girls my age. I will also have an opportunity to meet amazing, professional women. I think it would be interesting to discover how they chose their careers and it took to be successful. My teacher, Ms. Bell, told me that kids understand what they are learning when they are having fun. I am eager to have a chance to be a part of this program because I would get to experience college life in a real dorm room and travel to many different locations! Most importantly, when I get back to school, I am sure the experience and the knowledge gained will make me more successful.
From top: Lydia at Pretty Lake Adventure Centre; interviewing Sherry Fuller of Western Michigan University; with Explorers sailing on Lake Michigan; in plane with Tayla.
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Kymeil Beard I want to go to the Travel Writers Academy because it’s a great opportunity. I also want to go because when I grow up, I want to be a great writer. The only way I can go to college is by being smart, knowing my math and being a good writer. I want to learn how to write better. Also, I would like to learn how to spell and put words where they are supposed to be when I’m writing a letter. I would also like to learn more about editing. This opportunity will help me learn more important things to help me become a better writer.
Kymeil is a 4th grader in Kalamazoo Public Schools.
Maya Daniels I would like to participate in the Travel Writers Academy. Last year I had a blast and learned so much. The three things I want to learn this year are how to be a better videographer and photojournalist. So far, I have directed two videos and I am filming a third. I just recently found out that videographers can get paid to make videos for social media sites like YouTube and Vine. Also, I have been good at taking pictures for a very long time and I like editing them too. Even though I love to talk and ask questions, I often get nervous when I am interviewing people. I know I need to master all of these skills. My dad says, “We all reserve the right to get smarter.” So, that’s what I want to do in the area of media.
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Dear Mrs. Sonya, Thank you so much for all the hard work you have put into this Travel Club. You let me and the other girls have the experience that the kids in the Merze Tate Travel Club* had, but even better. When I came to the Travel Club, I was focused on one thing–to one day have a career in fashion merchandising. But, because of this program, I realize that I would also like to be a lawyer. I also want to be a traveler when I retire or in my spare time. I noticed that I am really interested in the law after a visit from the women of the Pratt Law Association. I would like to see justice in the world. I would also like to thank you for helping us out on the interviews. This was the first time I ever interviewed anyone and it was really helpful when you were there telling me questions to ask when I didn’t know what to say and giving me little tips along the way. You were also always there to wake us up every day for breakfast. Another thing I liked was that you took a lot of pictures. One day we will look back and remember when we were in the Travel Club and how much fun we had. This has made such an impact on my life and without this push, I would have never learned about the interesting things in the world that we learned about–all in one week.
Thank you! Sierra Ward
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Kennedy Hudson I have heard good things about the Merze Tate Travel Club from my sister Kyra who was in the program when she was younger. She told me that her favorite part was the trips she went on. She told me one of her favorite trips was to a Native American Pow Wow in Dowagiac, Michigan. I think being a part of this program will help me share with others the new places that I have been so that they may want to go and see these places for themselves. Kennedy Hudson poses after a plane ride by the Young Eagle pilots, and on the Friends Good Will Ship in South Have. Her sister, Kyra and Tori Zackery are charter members of the Travel Club. They pose here in 2008 at a Pow Wow.
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Stucki Family Foundation The 3rd Annual Tate-Stone Travel Writers Academy would not have been possible without you!
Other contributors include: Air Zoo, Young Eagles, YWCA Techgyrls, Frederick and Jennifer Vander Molen, Rev. Dr. Addis Moore, Cheryl Nebedum, Mary Harper, Sharon Anderson, Shirley and Phillip Kelley, Cynthia Gray, Shirley and Stephanie Cates, Preston and Mabel Johnson, Fredrick Johnson, Wanda Barnett, Sandra Williams, Deb Killarney, Elizabeth Harris, Jayda Craig, Jeff Palmer, Yolanda Wiggins, Nicole Chatman Barrow, Brian and Sandra Pipkins, and the many generous anonymous donors.
Kalamazoo Public Schools
are reaching higher! tuition for ge lle co e e fr e: is m ro The Kalamazoo P sidency & attendance requirements apply) KPS graduates (re nts have been or e d u st S P K 0 0 ,8 3 More than amazoo Promise al K he T f o s ie ar ci are benefi 000 students in 2, an th re o m f o th Grow the last 10 years , middle school and ry ta en em el g in is R res high school test sco of students taking er b m nu e th le b u o More than d ment courses in the last 7 years Advanced Place
For enrollment or more information please contact Kalamazoo Public Schools at
269.337.1572
Thanks to our International Ambassadors Sponsors!
By Kayla Raymond
1600 Douglas Avenue * Kalamazoo, MI * 49007 * www.hammondroto.com 32
| FALL 2015
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