Several Roxborough High Students Get 'Crowned' For Accomplishments

Apparently the title of king and queen isn’t just reserved for the prom at . Earlier this month a number of students in the cinematography and web design program at the school received crowns for congeniality, persistence and communications.

The awards were part of the first, and hopefully annual, showcase of the school’s cinematography and web design programs through Philadelphia Academies.

According to its website, the academies mission is to, “expand life and economic options for Philadelphia public school students through career-focused programming that prepares young people for employment and post-secondary education.”

And it seems the model is working for the students. The library was full of sophomores, juniors and seniors who had created video games or music videos depending on which program they were in that were judged by guests of the showcase.

“The program had a shaky start when I was in 10th grade,” senior Sabrina Bouknight, a Germantown resident said. “But it got better and really helped me.”

Although Bouknight was not showcasing any of her videos she credits the program for her desire to study film at Cheney University next year.

New this year, cinematography teacher Derek Stevenson seconded the program’s shaky start.

“They really didn’t have a teacher so there were definitely some trust issues there,” he said. “But then they realized that I was here for the long haul and we hit the ground running. I pushed them and they really responded.”

The equipment both the cinematography and web design courses use are the same used by the industry to give the students a one-up in the post high school world.

The music videos were the class’ final project and Principal Stephen Brandt called the work “phenomenal.”

“We want these programs to be the best in the city,” Brandt said. “We want to put Roxborough on the map.”

Lisa Nutter, president of Philadelphia Academies was also in attendance supporting the student’s endeavors.

A number of awards were given out Including:

The 180-degree award:

Cinematography: Paige Gandy, 11th

Arcade: Tim Zajac, 10th

Helping Hand Award:

Cinematopgrahy: Eric Krok, 10th

Fresh Air Award:

Cinematography: Chelsea Scruggs, 11th

Arcade: Michael Mower, 12th

Mr. & Ms. Congenality:

Eric Topping, 12th & Brittany Fisher, 12th

Mr. & Ms. Communications:

Josh Myers, 12th & Nicole Boyd, 11th

Mr. &Ms. Persistence:

Josh Myers, 12th & Tasha Gaines, 12th

First, second and third place awards were also given for the best video games and music videos. The prize was a $100, $50 and $25 gift card.

Cinematography:

1st: Natosha Gaines, 12th & Jasmine Martin, 12th

2nd: Everett Edwards, 10th

3rd: 10th graders Mina McCallum, Eric Krok, Phillip Cherry and Lenora Walker.

Arcade:

1st: Michael Mower, 12th

2nd: Shareef Anmed, 10th

3rd: Matthew DeYoung, 10th