{"id":13060,"date":"2025-01-30T16:26:56","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T21:26:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=13060"},"modified":"2025-01-31T08:28:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T13:28:22","slug":"summit-provides-pathways-to-greatness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/summit-provides-pathways-to-greatness\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit provides pathways to greatness"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Brian Jackson II\u2019s middle school session was about goal setting. He encouraged the young men to stay focused and on-target. They were each challenged to come up with a goal to reach before the end of the school year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The 17th annual African American Male Summit kicked off Jan. 25 as more than 350 attendees marched into the Green Run High auditorium.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The theme of the 17th<\/sup> annual African American Male Summit, \u201cEverybody Can Be Great,\u201d came from a speech by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.<\/p>\n

Those words rang true Jan. 25 at Green Run High School.<\/p>\n

More than 350 VBCPS middle and high school students and several School Board members attended the event sponsored by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.<\/p>\n

Students marched into the school auditorium as the Green Run band played.<\/p>\n

Green Run High, along with Green Run Collegiate and administrators, took the lead in organizing this year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Green Run High student leader Kassidy Jackson prepared for the African American Male Summit opening ceremony as the Green Run High band played.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Principal Tennille Bowser issued a greeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope today uplifts, inspires and motivates you to step into greatness,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Dr. Donald Robertson Jr. encouraged attendees to \u201csoak up everything you learn today\u201d and share the knowledge with others.<\/p>\n

He introduced guest speaker Patrick Duhaney as \u201can extraordinary leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duhaney, the first African American to serve as Virginia Beach city manager, shared how his parents moved their family from Jamaica to the U.S. in search of a better life.<\/p>\n

The Army veteran said his military experience helped build leadership skills and prepare him to be an effective team leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlways have the courage to do the right thing,\u201d he said. \u201cGive your best to your job, family, and community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students dispersed throughout the school to a variety of sessions designed to help them become future-ready.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
From left, Summit presenters Dr. Charles Corprew, Derrick White, and Brenten Sims hosted a high school session on expressing emotions.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Charles Corprew, who works for an investment firm, returned to his alma mater as a presenter with yoga therapist Brenten Sims and Derrick White, employed by Virginia Beach Child & Youth Behavioral Health Services.<\/p>\n

Their session focused on expressing emotions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about understanding your feelings, handling them in healthy ways and staying balanced,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

Stay positive, Corprew added. And when you need to turn unpleasant emotions around, \u201cfind things that make you happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, he once felt better after meeting up with friends following a stressful day at work.<\/p>\n

Some of the young men shared examples of ways to diffuse unpleasant feelings, such as playing basketball, listening to jazz music, and cooking.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ryan Cyrus\u2019 workshop on financial health garnered lots of questions from high school students during the Summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ryan Cyrus and Ricky Perry from Navy Federal Credit Union presented \u201cManaging Your Money.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seminar focused on the importance of financial health.<\/p>\n

\u201cCreating a budget inspires us to be disciplined with our money,\u201d Cyrus said.\u00a0 There were questions about Roth IRAs, investments and other ways to save money.<\/p>\n

They discussed credit scores, identity theft, dangers of social media and more.<\/p>\n

Brian Jackson II\u2019s middle school workshop topic was goal setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe set goals so we can stay focused on the target,\u201d said Jackson, a VBCPS employee relations specialist.<\/p>\n

Some students shared their goals for the future, including going to college and owning a house.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the right attitude, right motivation, you can do it,\u201d he told them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Landstown High seniors Josiah Brown, left, and Christian Smith said they enjoyed the chance to network with others and learn about the presenters\u2019 paths to success.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jackson said the young men have great potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have dreams and aspirations that are incredibly reachable,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd now is the time to begin the pathway to success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landstown High seniors Christian Smith and Josiah Brown visited the gym, which was filled with exhibitors from colleges and organizations.<\/p>\n

Christian said he learned a lot from meeting the presenters by \u201cunderstanding how they managed to get where they are in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity was a vendor.<\/p>\n

Members Kevon Easley and Ray Colston were impressed by the attendees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are part of an eager generation looking for a guided pathway to success,\u201d Easley said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How did the Summit begin? <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
VBCPS Superintendent Dr. Donald Robertson Jr. spoke at this year\u2019s African American Male Summit sponsored by the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion(DEI). From left, Robertson, DEI Director Ty Harris, School Board member Sharon Felton, summit founder Jobynia Caldwell, and School Board member Dr. Alveta Green.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first summit was the vision of Jobynia Caldwell, who retired in 2016 after 41 years with VBCPS.<\/p>\n

The former Tallwood High School principal attended this year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

She said the goal was to help close achievement gaps for some African American male students through improved grades, increase enrollment in rigorous coursework and leadership opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in a leadership role makes you want to achieve and belong in school,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The summit began with about 20 students from four VBCPS high schools and now includes all middle and high schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes my heart glad,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The theme of the 17th annual African American Male Summit, \u201cEverybody Can Be Great,\u201d came from a speech by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Those words rang true Jan. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":13066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13060"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13081,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13060\/revisions\/13081"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}