Decked in officially licensed college gear, most Pine Bluff High School students left no surprise where their future would take them.
“When they include us in stuff like this, it makes us feel recognized for the achievements we do get, even though we’re not athletes,” said Marquis Rice, who plans to major in biology at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. “Athletes get most of the recognition at the school, but as students we still accomplish our things, too. It’s a good thing for us to get recognized also.”
The event that classmate Sylvana Burgess attended with Rice goes to show the school not only cares about athletic excellence but academic performance, too.
“It goes to show there are different things all the students want to do, not just sports, not just nursing,” Burgess said. “It just shows that we appreciate it as students that we’re getting recognized, even for the small things we are doing.”
Rice and Burgess were just two of 111 seniors who signed certificates – not letters of intent – commemorating their college or career choices Thursday morning inside the Jack Robey campus gym. They took part in a College and Career Signing Day ceremony presented by the school’s College & Career Hub.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The second annual event took on the theme “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” after the 1990 book written by Dr. Seuss.
“I know we had a lot of athletic signing days, so those athletes will be celebrated, but we have several more students who are doing really great things and never get the acknowledgement,” said Denesha Evans, a college and career coach who organized the event along with fellow staff members Michelle Heard and Sheveeka Collier “and a lot of help from faculty and staff,” she added.
“Because I work with those seniors all through the year, I wanted to make sure they have their shine just like the athletes because they work just as hard,” Evans said.
Many of this year’s graduating Zebras have elected to stay home and become UAPB Golden Lions. Rice saw some benefits in taking his academic talents to The Yard.
“Me majoring in biology, the STEM program is available, and that’ll help me in my degree and help me get into med school,” Rice said.
Burgess said she considered leaving home for college but realized people she knows will take care of her at UAPB.
“I think UAPB is the quickest way to get an easy degree and not pinch for pennies just to afford college,” she said. “It’s a lot of people (who) know me, and if I’m ever in trouble, I have people there who can take care of me.”
Twenty-three colleges and universities will receive new PBHS graduates in the summer or fall, including out-of-state favorites like Clark Atlanta, Grambling State and North Carolina Central. Some students have also committed to the military, while local industries like Riceland Foods and Tyson Foods will hire some graduates.
Recruiters from the college, military and business sectors also attended.
“Whatever (the students are) doing that’s positive, we want to celebrate it,” Evans said.
One student, Keyon Smith, is stacking one scholarship after another to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
According to Erin Anders, admissions counselor at the UA, Smith was awarded a Silas Hunt Distinguished Scholarship of $8,000 per year, an Accelerated Student Achievement Program award of $4,000 per year, an Honors Path Program scholarship of $5,500 per year, and an Engineering Career Awareness Program award of $3,000 per semester. With the engineering award, Smith is expected to study abroad or complete an internship during the summer, according to Anders.
“We have close to 7,000 students who’ll be attending the University of Arkansas this fall,” Anderson said. “He is the only one out of all 7,000 who received the Engineering Career Awareness scholarship, was admitted to the Accelerated Student Achievement Program and was admitted into the Honors Path Program.”
