The Emily K Center is incredibly fortunate to have volunteers who are not only devoted and loyal, but also quite skillful and talented. Among our volunteers are professional musicians and mathematicians, actors and engineers. Today we would like to give a shout out to volunteer Laura Spence who captured the spirit of the Center and its students in her art.

Laura has spent almost the entire summer combing through files, photos and memorabilia, and this week installed an amazing interpretation in the display cases the length of an entire hallway. Everyone who has had the good fortune to view the new work has come away fairly speechless. It’s colorful and vibrant and speaks volumes about the growth and excellence of the EKC students from 1st through 12th grade.

If you have visited the Center before, plan a trip back to see Laura’s work. If you have not yet had a chance to come in and see what we do here, don’t miss this chance to stop in. You are in for a treat!

Brittany Lambright, an EKC senior, has been appointed by North Carolina Governor, Bev Purdue, to the competitive Governor’s Page program. She will serve as a page during the upcoming session in late fall in the state’s capitol. Brittany learned about the page program from a friend this summer when she attended a residential summer program at Bennett College. “We learned much more than math and science at the program this summer,” said Brittany. “I met people who have goals and high expectations like I do and we shared ideas.  Some of them have become good friends of mine,” Brittany added.  Students earned college credit for taking a biology class and a pre calculus course, but Brittany insists that her stay taught her a great deal about self reliance and independence too. “We even had etiquette classes and I think about what I learned there and actually use the information every day.”

And while Brittany has received an appointment by the Governor, Emily K junior, Jackie Ceron, is collecting honors from Durham Mayor, Bill Bell. Jackie is being honored this month with the Mayor’s Award at a recognition ceremony celebrating her 108 hours of community service she completed over the summer. Jackie volunteered at the Duke Children’s Hospital where she worked with young children waiting to be seen by their physicians. “I really enjoyed working with the three and four years olds, playing games and entertaining them. It confirmed that I am on the right path thinking about a health career,” Jackie said.

Both students have been seeking out leadership and character building experiences as part of their Scholars to College personal development goals.  Jackie, who has been part of the program for two years, attributes much of her willingness to take on new challenges to encouragement she receives at Emily K.  “Being part of the program makes me feel like I have so many people on my side. They want to make sure that we do our best and that we are prepared to succeed,” Jackie shared.