Emily K Students Became Part of the Entourage

A number of Emily K students benefited from the generosity of Eric Staal and the Carolina Hurricanes this past Saturday as guests in a private suite for the hockey game. Several Pioneer Scholars and their families received tickets based on their exceptional performance in the EKC program. And even though the students knew they were in for a special evening, no one guessed that they would get autographed t-shirts, dinner, drinks and candy in the suite, and a personalized Emily K welcome on the Jumbotron.

The Emily K group learned that Eric Staal and his wife, Tanya, have purchased the suite for the purpose of creating a special evening for select non-profit organizations and the kids involved with those organizations. The program is called Eric’s Entourage and at least for one night, the Emily K students were part of Eric’s Entourage.

April 4, 2012 at 3:46 pm | Our Students | 2 comments

The 5 Reasons I Volunteer at The Emily K Center

1. The Students -
This first reason is a no-brainer for anyone who has interacted with the students at the Emily K Center. The enthusiasm and dedication that these students demonstrate is astounding, and make it an absolute pleasure to volunteer here twice a week.  Over the last year and a half, I have gotten to know two wonderful groups of fifth graders and several other individual students at the Emily K Center. Getting hugs from my former students in the lobby and seeing the progress that my current students are making in school are reasons enough to come back here week after week.
2. The Dedicated Educators -
I also enjoy volunteering at the Emily K Center because of the remarkable staff who work here.  I have been very fortunate to work with the same teacher at the Emily K Center for the past year and a half, and I have enjoyed getting to know her better as we work together with our students.  I am interested in pursuing a career in education, so it is interesting and helpful to hear about the challenges and successes that she faces on a daily basis as a teacher in the Durham Public Schools.  Her commitment to the students at the Emily K Center is inspiring, particularly given the numerous other demands on her time.
3. The Valuable Programming -
I am particularly impressed with the structure and programming that the Emily K Center offers its students.  The high academic and behavioral standards combined with high levels of support are essential to helping students achieve success. As a student in education and public policy, I am very interested in the best practices in teaching and education, and I believe that the Emily K Center embodies these practices very effectively.  As a result, I know that my work here is part of a more continuous and enduring effort that is helping the students succeed in school and beyond.
4. The Meaningful Involvement in Durham -
As a Duke student, I also feel very strongly that it is important to be involved in the community around the university. It can be easy to become wrapped up in the academic and social life at Duke, but coming to the Emily K Center gives me a chance to interact with the city of Durham in a meaningful way.  My involvement at the Emily K Center has allowed me to learn more about the schools and families in Durham, while helping me feel more connected to the community in which I will live for the better part of four years.
5. The Ability to Make a Difference -
When all of my other reasons for being at the Emily K Center come together, the volunteers truly have a chance to make a difference here. I believe that the Emily K Center fills a very important need in the community, and to be a part of it is an incredibly rewarding experience.  After volunteering at the Emily K Center for close to two years, I genuinely believe that I have made a meaningful difference in the lives of the numerous children I have met here. I cannot think of a more gratifying way to spend my weekday afternoons.

***Aliya Pilchen is a Junior at Duke University and has been volunteering with the Pioneer Scholars program since Fall 2010 ***

March 13, 2012 at 9:31 am | Our Team | 4 comments

K to College Model students Salute Mr. Rosenfeld for Winning Prestigious Award

Lawrence Rosenfeld has been volunteering with the fourth grade Pioneer Scholars here at EKC for two years now and his students always gave him rave reviews. Little did they know that across town at UNC’s school of Communications Studies where he is a Professor, his college-aged students felt the same way.

Rosenfeld was nominated by the undergraduates and was then named this year’s recipient of the prestigious 2012 William C. Friday Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award recognizes members of the UNC faculty who have exemplified excellence in inspirational teaching and have had an exceptionally positive impact on the intellectual growth of students. We could not have said it better ourselves!

Thank you, Mr. Rosenfeld, for using your free time and your, obviously, exceptional talents to benefit EKC.

“A truly special teacher is very wise, and sees tomorrow in every child’s eyes.” -

Unknown

February 20, 2012 at 1:50 pm | Our Team | 3 comments

Emily K Scholars to College Senior Headlines in Durham Magazine!

When Durham Magazine leads off its issue on the best and brightest high schools seniors in town with a student from your program, you know you’ve made the grade! So, the Emily K Center gives a huge ‘atta girl’ to our own Vianey Martinez, whose beautiful smile and list of academic and extra-curricular accomplishments a mile long graces the pages of the February/March issue. Editor, Matt Dees, refers to Vianey and her six senior peers as, “smart, talented and worldly beyond their years.” After participating in the Scholars to College program at EKC throughout high school, Vianey will head to college next fall armed with a strong academic base and tools for time management, budgeting and developing healthy college habits. Vianey credits the Emily K program with guiding her through the confusing straits of college admissions and financial aid, as well as other key aspects of being a successful high school student. “My parents have no idea about the process, so it would have been difficult without Emily K,” she said. Great job, Vianey. You have outdone yourself!

February 8, 2012 at 12:52 pm | Our Students | 2 comments

Student’s Shining Example Wins Him Huge Award

Winning an award that takes two people to carry is one pretty special award. That’s why the announcement of the winner of the Healthy Habit Award at the Emily K Center is much anticipated. Given to a student who consistently plays fair, makes good choices, stays active, and acts as a leader at all times, the honor was recently presented to San, a second grader in the Pioneer Scholars Program. San received a bushel basket of fresh fruits and vegetables piled high and spilling over the top.

The theme of providing fresh produce began with Emily K donor, Steve Serck of JAB Produce, who provides a gift to the students of daily fresh fruit. The students make it a habit of integrating the fruit snack into their activities and uniformly have developed a truly heightened fondness for the healthy fare.  According to Coordinator of Educational Programming, Heather Hindin, award winner San quickly became a wonderful example within the program, always trying his best, making sound choices, and showing a good sense of fairness.

Congratulations San and thank you for setting such a fine example!

February 2, 2012 at 2:42 pm | Our Students | No comment

VOTE FOR COACH K AND THE EMILY K CENTER - VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN!!!

We are proud to announce that Coach K has named the Emily Krzyzewski Center as his selected charity in the Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge. Forty-eight top college basketball coaches will participate in the challenge which invites fans to vote for their favorite coach over an eight week period. Voters can cast their ballot through ESPN.com’s link to the Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge and can vote for Coach K each day. Infiniti will contribute more than $300,000 to selected charities, with one winner receiving $100,000. Without Coach Krzyzewski’s support, the Emily K Center would not be able to offer 1,500 students and community members each month the opportunity to learn, convene and grow, or conduct its academic K to College Model, a program designed to help students achieve in school and gain entry to college.

January 20, 2012 at 10:50 am | Our Organization | 2 comments

Joseph Advances to 2nd Round of JROTC Academic Challenge!

Congratulations to Emily K Scholars to College Junior Joseph Celestin for advancing to the second round in the JROTC Academic Challenge! Joseph was part of a four person team from Hillside High who competed in a 75 question Junior ROTC competition. More than 1300 JROTC programs from across the country took part in the challenge. He finished in the top 50%, which qualified him to advance to round two to be held this coming February. Joseph has been at Emily K for the past three years and shows character and determination through this effort. If the team he competes with finishes as one of the top 40 in the next round, they will go to Washington, DC in June to attend a leadership symposium and compete face-to-face. We are proud of you Joe. Good Luck!

January 11, 2012 at 2:30 pm | Our Students | 1 comment

Waffles in the House

Emily K seniors gathered at the Center during their vacation for a waffle breakfast get-together. Staffers Ashlea Hitchcock and Girija Mahajan served up the waffles with high octane maple syrup from donor, Ralph Smitten.  College acceptances and scholarships were the major topics of discussion, followed closely by after-Christmas sales at the mall. The group agreed to ‘Just Say No’ to senioritis in the upcoming second semester. Hard work and focus will take them to graduation and on their way to college!

December 30, 2011 at 10:07 am | Our Students | 1 comment

Emily K Students Jazz it up with the John Brown Orchestra’s Little Big Band

It was a fond farewell to 2011. Emily K Pioneer Scholars finished their last day at the Center for this year with a program fit for a king.  Or, maybe a President. John Brown and his 11 piece Jazz Orchestra conducted an educational performance for the Scholars and shared that one of their most recent gigs had been for President Obama in Hawaii.

“We are excited to be here, too,” John said, “Sometimes when we do educational performances it will be the first time the kids have ever heard jazz instruments. Who knows, the next Dizzy Gillespie might be out in that audience.”

John is the Director of the Jazz program at Duke University and the leader of the band. He and his orchestra are committed to bringing the big band sound to student groups all over North Carolina. It is a mission they believe in so strongly that they manage to fit it in around their non-volunteer professional performances.
“We introduce each of the instruments individually to the kids, and then we get them involved in the music.”

And the students did get involved. They had an opportunity to ask questions, which included asking how much some of the instruments weighed, and how long it takes before a musician is good enough to play in concerts. The students also learned that even the familiar strains of Sesame Street and the Flintstones intro music can be jazzed up by the big band sound.

Executive Director, Adam Eigenrauch commented that it’s easy to tell that you’re reaching kids with music when the air guitar, air drums, and, in this case, air horns, come out. The program ended with John promising that he and his fellow musicians would return next year and students left with toes tapping on their way to learning even more at Emily K come 2012.

December 16, 2011 at 1:29 pm | Our Students | No comment

Emily K Star Michele White Celebrates Her Birthday in Style!

Today marks another exciting milestone in the life of the Emily K Center as Communications Coordinator Michele White celebrates her birthday. Staff gathered in the Board room to share a few laughs and a “spot of tea” with the birthday girl.

When asked what she liked most about Michele, 2nd grader Arianna said, “I liked doing reading with Ms.Michele. She’s very nice and I hope she has a great birthday!”

2nd grader Kevin added his wishes too.  “Merry Christmas… I mean Happy Birthday!  I would like to give you something special - that could be something like earrings or maybe a shirt but I can’t because I don’t have a car to go get them.  I liked being your student!  You’re exciting!”

Happy Birthday to a very special member of our Emily K Center Team!

***Michele White is the author of 99% of our blog posts so we decided that on her birthday she should get to enjoy a break from writing and instead be the “star” of a post!  She enjoyed it and we hope you do too!***

December 8, 2011 at 2:33 pm | Our Team | 1 comment

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