Embracing Our Culture

Embracing Our Culture

BY DANA DURBIN
Rice News Staff
September 30, 1999

Scholarship Program Recognizes Deserving Students
Who Display Same Leadership Qualities as Barbara Jordan

The second year of the Barbara Jordan scholarship program is providing support for a group of 11 freshmen who display the qualities of the late congresswoman.

The four-year, half-tuition scholarships were established last year to honor Jordan, a native of Houston’s Fifth Ward who was the first black woman elected to the Texas Legislature and the U.S. Congress.

The scholarships recognize deserving students who exhibit the qualities that were an integral part of Jordan’s character–the ability to build bridges across racial, cultural and religious divides–and who will enhance the campus environment by embracing the racial and ethnic traditions that are a part of our society.

“We’ve selected students who have been leaders in their community and who brought their high school campuses together across racial and cultural lines. These are students who we believe will continue that model at Rice,” said Associate Provost Roland Smith, who worked with Jordan’s estate to establish the program.

Last year, nine scholarships were awarded. Many of those students have naturally become involved in important campus activities, Smith said. Hopefully those students will serve as mentors to the new group of Barbara Jordan scholars, and there are plans to bring the first and second-year recipients together at a reception.

The students do not specifically apply for the scholarships, but are selected based on specific qualities and aspects of their character. The goal is that the number of scholarships awarded each year will gradually increase, Smith said.

“In the long run, our hope is that we send the message that the qualities that were important to Barbara Jordan are qualities we want in our students, regardless of their background,” he said.

Jordan, born in 1936, gained national prominence when she lent her eloquent voice and unshakable faith in the Constitution to the Watergate impeachment hearings. She left Congress in 1978 to teach at the University of Texas at Austin and remained active in politics. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1973 and died in 1996 of complications from leukemia.

Students named as the second group of Barbara Jordan scholars were excited to learn that they were the recipients of the scholarships honoring the late congresswoman. They also expressed pride that qualities such as leadership and the ability to embrace diversity were recognized and excitement about their futures at Rice University. Brief profiles of the 11 Barbara Jordan Scholarship winners follow.

Petra Pilgrim, Wiess College

In an essay on her application to Rice, Petra Pilgrim wrote about an experience she had with a high school friend through which she realized “that I can offer my unusual perspective to many other people. I want to help destroy the stereotypes that exist in people’s hearts and minds.”

Many of her high school activities indicate her desire to make a difference in the way people view others, and as a Barbara Jordan scholar, Pilgrim may be able to break down even more barriers.

According to her school counselor, Pilgrim showed exceptional leadership through her involvement as head of the student tour guide group and co-editor of the school paper. She was also vice president of a multicultural awareness organization and a member of the Young Liberals Club. She served as president of her school’s chapter of the National Junior Honor Society and president of the student council.

Pilgrim, who grew up in Saudi Arabia and went to high school in Rhode Island, is considering majoring in English, but her main interest is medicine, and she would like to become a doctor.

Alisa Tijerina, Baker College

Through her scholarship, Alisa Tijerina hopes to continue the legacy of Barbara Jordan by making a difference in whatever way she can.

“Rice will leave a very big impression on me, I am sure, and I only hope I can leave a small, positive impression on it,” she said.

The Texas native who grew up in San Antonio made a difference in a lot of ways at Incarnate Word High School, including through an innovative program she developed that dealt with issues that impact young women. She set up a seminar&emdash;now an annual event at the school&emdash;and brought in mental health professionals to discuss eating disorders, stress, drugs, date rape and other topics.

In high school, Tijerina was one of only 50 high school students chosen to participate in a summer engineering program for minority students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was also involved in tutoring, volunteer activities and was a member of the tennis and swim teams.

She plans to major in chemical or mechanical engineering and hopes to pursue engineering as a career.

Jeffrey Blackinton, Jones College

Surprised and “slightly shocked” to receive a Barbara Jordan scholarship, Jeffrey Blackinton was proud to be recognized for what he described as an “unquantifiable part of my personality.”

That part of his personality that embraces diversity was manifested through his participation in high school in a student delegation that twice traveled to Nicaragua to provide supplies and other aid to families there. He stayed with a host family and worked on a two-week community project during each trip, an experience which he said profoundly changed him.

At Bainbridge High School in Washington, Blackinton was also a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish Club. During three summers he attended the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University, where one of the subjects he studied was genetics. Blackinton plans to pursue his interest in that field in college and beyond.

An active high school baseball player, Blackinton said in his Rice application that he would love to be a professional ball player, but admitted that it wasn’t very realistic, so he would focus on being a research geneticist. “I want to discover new things to make new strides for humanity. Doing research is the best way to fulfill this desire.”

Liora Danan, Jones College

The winner of the San Antonio Mayor’s Award for Youth in the area of volunteer service, Liora Danan devoted herself as a high school student to activities that served others.

Especially notable was her work with Link, a Jewish&endash;Arab teen group that worked in Israel to link an Arab village to a Jewish settlement. While there, her views of Israeli Arabs changed and were summed up by a man she met, who stated, “A man is a man and the moment that Arabs and Jewish people in Israel can sit down and have coffee and talk as people, there will be hope for peace.”

Her other activities at Alamo Heights High School included leadership roles in the school newspaper, the young Democrats organization, B’Nai Birth and the Create a Home project.

At Rice, Danan will be steered by her interest in writing and the humanities.

Megan Francis, Baker College

This graduate of James A. Garfield High School in Seattle could very well be considered the epitome of the “bridge&endash;builder” quality that Rice looks for in its Barbara Jordan scholars.

At her high school, Megan Francis was a cultural relations facilitator who worked to overcome racial, religious and cultural divides. Once a week for a year, she and other students participated in a forum where they discussed various topics aimed at reducing those divides. She was also a facilitator at the Anti&endash;Defamation League, participating in the Reducing Adolescent Prejudice conference and attending high schoolsaround the state that had problems with discrimination.

“Many of those people lived in closed worlds and discriminated subconsciously,” she said. “We went in for a couple of hours and facilitated discussions to help relieve tension. I hope to continue this in college by getting involved in the same kind of activities at Rice and in the Houston community.”

Francis is interested in computer science and managerial studies at Rice, and she is especially looking forward to meeting new people.

Upon learning that she received a Barbara Jordan scholarship, Francis said, “I screamed, did a little dance, called my dad, he screamed. But later on, when I was really thinking about it, it made me feel really good that Rice supported these kinds of activities and was willing to exhibit that support to people who were involved.”

Cynthia Guadalupe, Hanszen College

Cynthia Guadalupe came highly recommended by her counselors and teachers in high school, so it’s only fitting that she was selected as a Barbara Jordan scholar.

The native of the Bronx in New York City was described by one counselor as “a true leader who could someday have a global impact.”

She exhibited her leadership through one high school activity in particular, Summerbridge, an outreach program for underprivileged youth.

“Summerbridge is the activity that has had the most meaning for me because of the close interaction I’ve been able to have with the students,” Guadalupe wrote in her Rice application.

Guadalupe was also the president of the Hispanic Organization for Latino Awareness and was a three&endash;year mentor in the Brothers and Sisters Empowered program.

At Rice, Guadalupe is interested in majoring in engineering.

Miriam Jackson, Will Rice College

Hockley, Texas, native Miriam Jackson had a dream. In pursuing it, she showed some of the important qualities that led to her designation as a Barbara Jordan scholar.

For as long as she can remember, she wanted to be a dancer. Her lessons were minimal, and she only found a few opportunities to dance. She won’t become a professional dancer, but Jackson “learned that I should keep my dream alive. I have realized that in several ways, I achieved my dream of being a dancer, but most of all I understand that my dream isn’t one that I have to achieve in a certain way or else give up entirely.”

Jackson was also strongly influenced by her interaction with some of Houston’s homeless population at Magnificat House, where her parents worked. She learned to be more compassionate and believes this quality will help her to get to know and feel comfortable with a diverse group of people.

A graduate of Waller High School, Jackson plans to be a teacher. One of her early influences was a ninth&endash;grade history teacher who made the subject come alive. She also plans to study Spanish at Rice.

Deepthy Kishore, Lovett College

Barbara Jordan scholar Deepthy Kishore was one of only 15 incoming students chosen for the Rice&endash;Baylor Medical Scholars Program, and she may very well follow Jordan’s footsteps into politics.

Kishore, who hails from Georgia, plans to attain her medical degree as well as a bachelor of arts in political science, and she plans to explore the option of merging both career routes, possibly through a position with a medical organization or political action committee or even as a senator or congresswoman.

She was involved in two prestigious programs in high school, Girls State and Girls Nation, that emulate governments at the state and national levels. At Girls Nation, Kishore was elected to four offices by the other participants, but the highlight of the program for her was meeting and shaking hands with President Clinton.

Rebecca Mackiernan, Baker College

With her dream of attending Rice University a reality, Rebecca Mackiernan can now focus her attention on her goal of becoming a career educator.

She hopes to ultimately create programs that help schools work with student’s individual learning styles, deal with race and gender equity and with learning disabilities. On her application she stated that, “In public schools I have seen many students struggle while others suceed. Teachers and curriculum that focus on one learning style alienate students who ‘think differently.'”

Mackiernan plans to study cognitive sciences, especially as they apply to math education.

As a high school student in North Carolina, Mackiernan devoted herself to volunteer service through the Girl Scouts. In 1998, she earned her Girl Scout Gold Award, which included completing a 50 hour project where she created an outdoor classroom at her school, soliciting more than $1,000 from local businesses, engineering plans for the room and participating in the final construction.

Evan Pankey, Lovett College

Evan Pankey, a graduate of Rockhurst High School in Olathe, Kan., wants to do nothing less than follow a career path through which he can “affect the human condition.”

He aspires to become a psychologist to attain that goal. On his college application, he stated that “I have been given and blessed with much in life. Through the field of psychology, I believe I can give back at least a part of what I have received.”

In his desire to study psychology, Pankey expresses why he was chosen as a Barbara Jordan scholar: “I was raised never to view my heritage as a stumbling block, but as a vantage point to receive the world around me. The comparison of my varied perspectives has caused me to wonder exactly why people divide themselves, when often times people are just people; the human race is more common than contrast.”

An active high school student, Pankey was a National Achievement Scholar, a Macy’s Minorities in Medicine Scholar and a three-year member of his school’s multicultural team.

Ann Awantang, Sid Richardson College

Ann Awantang was selected as a Barbara Jordan scholar because of her strong written expression and her commanding presence, according to Tamara Siler, coordinator of minority recruitment in the Office of Admissions.

The graduate of Saint Andrews School in Washington, D.C., has displayed wisdom in relation to race issues and, according to her high school counselors, she was a dynamic participant in every aspect of the school.

She was involved in several volunteer efforts, including the Big Sister program and at a local soup kitchen. But she said that crew was perhaps her most significant high school activity. She never felt like a natural athlete, but because of her participation in crew she said, “I finished my junior-year season feeling empowered.”