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Eighty-five middle and high school students from Somerset and Hunterdon counties were honored for their achievements at the 29th Annual Paul Robeson Youth Achievement Awards Reception, held May 29 at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) in Branchburg. The event is sponsored by the College’s Paul Robeson Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Social Justice.

The evening featured a keynote address by Frank Abreu, a healthcare administrator with years of experience assisting in personal development and overcoming life’s challenges.

The National Council of Negro Women and RVCC initiated the Paul Robeson Youth Achievement Awards program to pay tribute to the outstanding attainments of students in the two counties. The awards are named in honor of Paul Robeson, a Princeton native who grew up in Somerville and graduated from Somerville High School and Rutgers University. The awards were given in four areas in which Robeson excelled: Scholarship, the Arts, Community Service and Athletics, as well as special “Renaissance Awards” given to students who excel in a number of disciplines.

The Evelyn Field Award for Outstanding Essay also was presented. The award pays tribute to the founding member of the RVCC Board of Trustees who was a dynamic and compassionate advocate for promoting diversity and equality on campus. In 1990 Mrs. Field established the Paul Robeson Youth Achievement Program to preserve Paul Robeson’s legacy as a role model for excellence.
 
The 85 students were nominated for awards by their guidance counselors, teachers and administrators. A special committee of RVCC faculty and administrators selected the award recipients. The following students received special honors:

Renaissance Award
Madison Pitts
Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School

Major Harding Eliot
Franklin High School

Ariel Richards
Franklin Middle School at Hamilton Street Campus

Avari Jones
North Plainfield Middle School

Community Service Award
Nia Phillips
Pingry High School  

Jaya Gibbons
Lake Nelson Adventist Academy

Ty-Anna Dormeus
Franklin Middle School at Sampson G. Smith Campus

Rooney Rasare
Readington Middle School

Scholarship Award
Sharon Samuel
Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School

Nolan James-Pieters
Lake Nelson Adventist Academy

Sarala Thompson
Franklin Middle School at Sampson G. Smith Campus

Ryan Kpamegan
Franklin Middle School at Sampson G. Smith Campus

Athletics Award
Makayla Choy
Bridgewater-Raritan High School

Nadell Booker
Franklin High School

Sulakha Jama
Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School

Darnell Marché
Franklin Middle School at Hamilton Street Campus

Arts Award
Madison Bishop
Bridgewater-Raritan High School

Jordan Jackson
Somerset County Vocational & Technical High School

Camille Jean
Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School

Alivia Guions
Franklin Middle School at Hamilton Street Campus

Evelyn Field Award for Outstanding Essay
Stacey Darcelin
Immaculata High School

Beri Tawe
Hillsborough Middle School

The Paul Robeson Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Social Justice was founded in 1999 to preserve Paul Robeson’s legacy in the area where he came of age as an artist, athlete, orator, and scholar. The Institute envisions a global community of diverse cultures that embodies, through attitudes and behaviors, Paul Robeson’s ideals, beliefs, values and vision for a world of justice and peace.

The Paul Robeson Resource Room, located in RVCC’s Evelyn S. Field Library, is an information center for Robeson’s national and worldwide activities. Established in 2003, the Resource Room serves as a repository for educational materials, historical records and memorabilia of Robeson’s Somerville years and the worldwide accomplishments of people of African-American descent.

Raritan Valley Community College’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 6, 2019

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383

PR #151