Earlier this month, Seattle King County NAACP ACT-SO participants Ericka Pegues and India Mitchell brought home a gold and bronze medal, respectively, from the NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
ACT-SO — which stands for Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics – is a program designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students.
A total of eight students represented the Seattle King County NAACP at the national competition this year. This year’s team included: Jhana Williams, a senior at Renton High; India Mitchell, a recent graduate of Holy Names, who is attending Seattle Central in fall; Taame Rahwa Beyene, a recent graduate of Edmonds Woodway, who will be attending Georgia State Poetry in the fall; Olyvia Salter, a senior at Taft Academy; Ericka Pegues, a senior at Taft Academy; Mahala Provost, a sophomore at West Seattle High School; Isaiah Barnett, a junior at Seattle Academy; and Monica TL Lewis, co-chair of the ACT-SO team.
The students that attend the national competition rank at the top of their categories in the local and regional competitions, and were part of a select 600 students from around the country to attend the convention.
Ericka Pegues won a gold medal in Science Medical Health by showcasing a device she created on Improving the Efficiency of Liposomal Drug Transfection. The device is currently being used in lab at the Fred Hutchinson Medical Center in Seattle. India Mitchell took home a bronze medal in Vocal Contemporary with her rendition of Green Eyes by Erykah Badu. Mitchell has been involved in ACT-SO for the past three years, and this is Pegues’ first year participating in the program.
“ACT-SO was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had,” said Pegues. “The amount of support I had from my Seattle/King County branch and the other competitors was both astounding and encouraging.”
For Carolyn Riley-Payne, the ACT-SO chair and Vice President of the Seattle King County NAACP, it has been a joy to work with Ericka, India, and the rest of the ACT-SO team, and see them grow into their talents.
“Each year it is my pleasure to help students develop the necessary skills and tools to establish goals, and acquire the confidence and training to make a successful contribution to society,” said Riley-Payne. “The goal is always to reach more students and recognize their academic achievements—every one of us brings something unique to the table and ACT-SO allows students to act on that.”
