`Urban Scholar’ Grads Ready for the Next Step
By LAURA CRIMALDI
When the Class of 2008 graduates from Boston’s 38 public high schools later this month, 22 “urban scholars” will get diplomas and head to college.
The Urban Scholars Program at the University of Massachusetts- Boston is a year-round program with advanced after-school classes, seminars, tutoring and supervised study for students who pass a rigorous admissions process.
According to school statistics, 98 percent of Urban Scholar graduates are accepted by two or more colleges and 86 percent have their bachelors degree or are still in college. These students are some of the best and brightest.
Family’s first grad cooks up a plan
The next time Kenneil Rowell, 18, gets his name in print, it will likely be to toast the opening of Di Russo, his future Newbury Street restaurant.
“I love culinary arts,” said Rowell, who graduates from the Academy of Public Service in Dorchester this month. “I’ve been cooking since I was like too young to be near a stove.”
Rowell is the first son in his family to graduate, an achievement magnified by his ability to carry on in the wake of his brother’s murder and the arrest and juvenile detention of his twin.
“Me finishing high school is a huge deal for me. Personally, it’s everything,” said Rowell, who is one of six boys. “My mother was there for all of us. I don’t know where my brothers went off, but as far as things came to me she was determined.”
Rowell’s brother, Eddie, 21, was fatally shot in Roxbury on Sept. 16, 2006, Boston police records show. A suspect has never been identified, Rowell said. Six months earlier, Rowell’s beloved grandfather and the namesake of his future eatery, Antonio Di Russo, 92, died.
“From an early age, we’ve been dealing with drama and noise and just craziness my entire life. So when the bad things happen, my little brothers, my entire family actually, they look to me for action,” said Rowell, who will attend Johnson & Wales University. “So yes, I have my breakdowns and my crying fits and my sadness and sorrow and then I get back up and I adjust.”
Rowell credits his English teacher, Naima Abdal-Khallaq, and his grandmother, with helping him get over his sorrow by not cutting him any slack.
“It was about teaching him that he was greater than the adversity,” said Abdal-Khallaq. “It was a lesson that I was trying to teach him for a lifetime.”
The crochet club he formed with Abdal-Khallaq is an example of how Rowell makes the best of the hand he’s dealt.
“We made little articles of clothing for homeless people, which I thought was great because back in eighth grade we were homeless,” said Rowell. “I take lemons and turn them into lemonade.”
CAPTION: KENNEIL ROWELL: Rowell, 18, an aspiring restaurateur, is graduating from the Academy of Public Service in Dorchester and will attend Johnson & Wales University. STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN WILCOX
Iraq native completes chapter in her Odyssey
It seems fitting that Siber Hussein, 18, will graduate from Odyssey High School in South Boston this month given the worldwide journey that has carried her from Iraq to Turkey to Connecticut and finally Dorchester.
“I want to go back, but I’m not planning to live in Iraq,” said Hussein, who was born in Mosul, a predominantly Kurdish city 250 miles northwest of Baghdad. “I think America suits me better. I think I grew up here, this is like my first home and Iraq is my second.”
Hussein said her family lived a comfortable life in Mosul until she was 6 years old and her father, Adnan, a civil engineer, ran afoul of the law under dictator Saddam Hussein.
Her family fled to Aksaray, Turkey, where Hussein lived as a refugee. In 2001, they moved to Hartford.
“I still to this day don’t know the actual problem,” said Hussein. “He was told to do something that he wasn’t willing to do and they were going to punish him for that. So we had to move away because we were threatened to be killed.”
Hussein, who speaks Arabic, Kurdish and Turkish, said she hears a lot of myths about Iraq from her peers. Some think that Osama bin Laden is Iraqi and that Saddam Hussein carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, she said.
“Everyone fears Iraqis. I don’t understand why. They stereotype us as terrorists and that’s not true,” said Hussein, an aspiring dentist who is still deciding her college plans.
“In many ways she’s very self-possessed and has no trouble speaking her mind,” said Odyssey Headmaster Virginia Ordway. “She follows her own beat.”
Hussein has two sisters in Iraq. Her dad also returned to serve as an American military intrepreter. A linguist herself, Hussein is learning Cape Verdean Creole from her friends.
“At first, I didn’t know how to communicate with people. I was bullied and all that,” Hussein said. “Then I learned my English and I became friends with everyone. Now everyone adores me.”
CAPTION: SIBER HUSSEIN: Hussein, 18, an aspiring dentist, will graduate from Odyssey High School in South Boston. She is still deciding her college plans. STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN WILCOX
`Lucky’ teen knows it’s all about determination
His parents named him Lucky to honor how he survived a premature birth. But this 16-year-old high school senior does not leave anything to chance.
“What keeps me going is determination, knowing that I’m here for a purpose,” said Lucky Egharevba, an aspiring physician who graduates from the Academy of Public Service (APS) in Dorchester June 12. “A man with purpose never fails. A man with purpose knows what to do no matter what’s going on.”
Egharevba, who moved to Boston from Nigeria on Nov. 5, 2006, is the first son in his family to graduate from an American high school. He will attend Gordon College in Wenham to study biology.
“I am so proud of him,” said his father, Osazee, 53, a parking attendant who worked in Boston for eight years before he was able to move his children to the United States. “He’s so nice and he’s good. He’s an intellectual.”
The staff at APS say Egharevba is loved by his peers and always credits others for helping him.
“I think he brings hope and he brings in motivation,” said Sugeily Santos, a student development counselor. “You can seem him blush a little. He’s humble.”
A member of the track and soccer teams, Egharevba is grateful for the opportunities that opened for him when he moved to America. He swells with pride when he talks about giving a speech last August about global poverty at the John F. Kennedy Library. As Egharevba points out, Sen. Ted Kennedy has given speeches from the same rostrum.
“I think what makes me different from every other person is that I make good use of every opportunity that comes my way,” said Egharevba. “I believe that opportunity comes but once. When it comes, if you are able to make good use of it, you’re going to be successful.”
Armed with an education, Egharevba said he would like to return to Nigeria to better his countrymen. “You need to move with purpose,” he said. “You need to move with your vision.”
CAPTION: LUCKY EGHAREVBA: Egharevba, 16, an aspiring physician, will graduate from the Academy of Public Service in Dorchester and attend Gordon College in Wenham. STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN WILCOX
After tough breaks, student is ready for next challenge
When Jatara Gray says nothing is ever good enough, she’s not complaining. She’s reciting her motto.
“I can’t stop now,” said Gray, 18, who will graduate from Noonan Business Academy in Dorchester June 11. “If I stop now, then I have to think about everything I’m giving up.”
Considering the adversity that Gray already has put behind her, it’s no wonder why this honor student and cheerleader is so eager to take on the future.
Gray was raised in Brockton and Boston by her grandmother who encouraged her to live the “adult life.” Her mom spent most of Gray’s childhood behind bars where mother-daughter time had to be carved out in settings like a Girl Scout program at the prison.
Fires drove her family from two houses in Brockton. As recently as last year, she spent time in a homeless shelter before moving into a Meeting House Hill apartment with her mom and stepfather.
“We’ve been through holy hell and back,” said her grandmother, Bessie L. Gray, 62, of Dorchester. “That’s my darling.”
The next challenge for Gray will be paying for college. As it is, Gray logs long hours at the CambridgeSide Galleria, where she works at Au Bon Pain and the clothing store Express. This summer, Gray will work as a camp counselor at the Dorchester YMCA, but she also wants a second job in security.
Even with the multiple part-time jobs, Gray isn’t sure whether she’ll be able to pay the tuition at her dream school, the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. For the time being, Gray plans to attend Middlesex Community College in the fall.
“She takes education seriously,” said Christopher Kelly, the student recruiter and college adviser for the Urban Scholars program at UMass-Boston. “When you’re in her situation, a lot of people say, `I just need the money now’ and forget about everything else. She balances that and says, `I need the money now, but I also need to think about the future.’ “
CAPTION: JATARA GRAY: Gray, 18, will graduate from the Noonan Business Academy in Dorchester. She plans to attend Middlesex Community College, and, ultimately, UMass-Lowell. STAFF PHOTO BY JOHN WILCOX
Originally published by By LAURA CRIMALDI.
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