Students at Sandy Springs Charter Middle School were “Celebrating Black Excellence” on Feb. 24, a panel discussion in which local Black leaders spoke about their journeys and how they learned to succeed.
Sandy Springs Together – a nonpartisan project dedicated to educating the public about housing, land use and economic development issues in the city – sponsored the Black History Month event with the school. Sequoia Hanneman of the organization said Black History Month allows the community to learn about and celebrate Black leaders, many of whom have contributed to the world of science, innovation and economic improvement.
Michael Grady, a research engineer at Georgia Tech, explained how he made his way from the inner city of Birmingham, Ala. to the university. A program called Future Engineers in America showed the students concepts in electrical, mechanical, aerospace and other engineering fields. From that he was offered free education.
He told the students resilience was a trait that was built into him as he competed against students and athletes who were better than him.
“I went to college, and I was not aware of physics. And I had to make sure that I succeeded in physics or build resilience in overcoming certain subjects that are not just natural,” Grady said.
Quinton Stephens, a basketball programs specialist for the Atlanta Hawks, said that he didn’t take the game seriously until the 11th and 12th grades. He got a scholarship to Georgia Tech. But when he wasn’t playing as much as he wanted, he considered transferring to another school. He spoke with a team staff member who said he should put it all on the line on the basketball court. The next game the unranked Tech team played was against fifth-ranked Virginia.
“I got in the game, I was like, I have nothing to lose. I just started firing,” he said. The 28 points he scored was the highest-scoring game he ever had in college and he stayed at Tech. After graduation, he was offered contracts from teams in Europe which allowed him to travel the world.
Vladimir “DJ Loui Vee” Scott advised students to take what they decide to do seriously. That’s advice his mother shared with him when he told her before college graduation that he wanted to be a DJ.
“Basically, she just told me that, if I take it serious and do everything I’m supposed to do a lot of doors and opportunities and blessings will happen,” he said.
His said career progressed from a first gig the week after college graduation, to house DJ, TV work and eventually to work as a program director and radio personality with 105.3 The Beat in Atlanta and syndicated across the country.
Student Government Association representative Amina Jennings asked the panelists to explain networking and what it does to help them.
Le’Dor Milteer, a community organizer who helps city and state political candidates with outreach, learned a lot about defeating insecurity when she ran for a Sandy Springs City Council seat. She walked throughout the community, knocking on doors and engaging with residents. She lost that race and heard a lot of comments criticizing her for not taking care of her home in favor of running for office. But six months later she had a national documentary talking about issues that concerned her.
Melody Kelley, the first Black person elected to the City Council, had the students repeat her mantra saying they already know they possess excellence. Her second step in dealing with insecurity is the harder part, Kelley said, and that’s to believe it.
Antoinette Dormer Whitman, a multimedia producer, said before her career shifted from acting to producing, she attended a networking event when she didn’t know what to do in the future. She walked up to a woman producer and introduced herself. From that discussion, she gained an opportunity to start working behind the camera.
“Like the clouds cleared away suddenly now and everything was so clear about how to move forward,” she said.
From that day on Whitman said she understood how important networking was and how even if you are scared, you need to get out there and start off a conversation with someone because you never know what opportunity may lie ahead.
