Recap of the Black History Summer Academy Ariya & The Kwanzishas
Goodnews resides in Springfield, Missouri with her parents Cyril and Jane Ehie, along with her four siblings. Goodnews’ origin of birth is Lagos, Nigeria. The family attends Truth and Goodnews Ehie Love Assemblies Ngozi of God as their “Blessed” place of worship. She graduated from Central High School with a weighted GPA of 4.63. While at Central, Goodnews was involved in the following extracurricular activities and hobbies: Photography, Girls for Good, A+ Tutoring, National Honors Society, as well as being in the International Baccalaureate Program. She also has a small jewelry business, “Gy Care by G.” Goodnews volunteers with Environmental Conservation of the Ozarks, (ECA), Girls for Good, and the Botanical Society at Central High School. Her achievements include being a local finalist with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR); a state finalist for the 20192020 HOSA-Future Health Professionals, which is a global student led organization; International Baccalaureate Career Program Ambassador; and her continued presence on the Principal’s Honor Roll, 2018-2022. Goodnews plans to attend Missouri State University with a major area of study in Radiography. Her career will be as a Radiologic Technologist.
Tynieze resides in Springfield, Missouri with her mother, Chimere Heard and has eight siblings. Tynieze completed her high school career at Tynieze Edwards Central High School with a Kiongozi Imara weighted GPA “A Strong Leader” of 4.1, where she was part of the International Baccalaureate Program (IB). Her other school activities included: Cabinet Member as Elections Commissioner, Equity and Diversity Advisory Council Member, and IB Ambassador. Tynieze also volunteered during the year at Central’s Blood Donor Drive. Tynieze’s other in-school activities included: The National Honors Society and a 4-year member of The Central High School Kilties Drum and Bugle Corp, which she completed as Drum Major. Tynieze played the snare, twirled, and led over 40 performances as the Drum Major— including volunteer work for ALS walks and street clean-up. She also assisted in the redesign of the summer uniforms for the Kilties and received the award of “Outstanding Major” from the Missouri State University Homecoming Parade. Outside of classes, Tynieze enjoys her hobbies of art and writing. She plans to attend Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, California. Her major area of study will be Game Art. Tynieze’s career plans are to work in video game design with a specialization in character creation.
Page 12 Building Empowering Connections | Unite News
Jaela Maikal Burris
Mfanisi Mkubwa
Jaela resides in Springfield, Missouri along with her parents Michael Burris and Allison Burris. She has three siblings, Jordan, Amaya and Carter.
She graduated from Hillcrest High School with a GPA of 4.5. She is ranked #7 in her graduating class and was honored for her academic excellence as a Rose Scholar. In May 2022 Jaela was inducted into the Hillcrest Hall of Fame. Jaela has multiple awards in Broadcast Journalism including the Robert F. Kennedy High School Journalism Award. This award is given to only one high school student in the United States per year. Her winning podcast was called “The Talk” and was posted in March 2021. It featured Jaela talking to two students — both of African American descent — sharing the warnings they received from their parents about navigating the world as a young person of color. Jaela plans to continue her educational journey by attending the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Her major area of study will be Journalism. After completing her studies at the University of Missouri, she plans to have an outstanding career in Journalism.
“Magnificent Achiever”
