DVHS 2015-16 Boys Soccer Team – Top row from left to right: Fabian Wence, Omar Alsugire, Edgard Morazan, Luke Fernandes, Christian Rodriguez, Ryan Eng, Jonathan Amavisca, Enrique Fajardo, Cameron Park, Isaiah Moreira, Coach Juan Tannus, Bottom row from left to right: Diego Ruiz, David Espiritu, Daniel Huerta, Armando Fajardo, Corey Alford, Rodolfo “Rury” Saucedo, José Navarro, and our Manager Alex Wilmes. Not pictured : Edgar Contreras.

By Allen Payton

At their annual awards banquet, the 18 members of the Deer Valley High School boys varsity team were presented with scholastic achievement awards. Each player was awarded by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and North Coast Section (NCS) with a Distinguished Scholastic Team Certificate of 3.33 GPA. Nine players earned a GPA of 3.5 or better.

“I think this is an outstanding accomplishment for our varsity team this year,” said Coach Juan Tannus. “Our school and I are very proud of this achievement.”

Antioch High varsity football players Guadie Campbell and Omari Harris received offers of scholarships, earlier this month. photo by Luke Johnson

By Luke Johnson

Two star football players from Antioch High School, other than the nation’s number one recruit Najee Harris, received Division I football scholarship offers early in March.

First, freshman wide receiver Guadie Campbell was offered by Brigham Young University on March 2, followed by an offer from Eastern Washington University two days later.

On that same day, sophomore linebacker/running back Omari Harris (no relation to Najee) earned an opportunity to play at the University of Nebraska, then received the same news from the University of California, Berkeley on March 7. All of these are full-ride scholarships.

Campbell’s offers came under rare circumstances, considering he has yet to record a varsity stat. He played the entire 2015-16 regular season on the freshman team, and was pulled up to varsity during the playoffs with minimal playing time. But BYU noticed his upside and potential, and wanted to jump on him early.

Now with these new accolades, Campbell feels opponents might start targeting him due to his young age.

“I’m just a freshman,” he said. “They think, ‘Oh, he has offers. He’s just been going against little kids.’ That just gives me an opportunity to show them how I got these offers.”

Omari Harris started his high school career at De La Salle, then transferred to Antioch as a sophomore. He became a part of the Panthers’ historic 10-0 season, and finished the year strong, filling in for injured senior linebacker/running back Nick Perry. He recorded 203 rushing yards with 22 carries, four touchdowns and three sacks.

“It’s exciting, because it brings so much positivity to the team and the school,” offensive coordinator Brett Dudley said. “A couple years ago, you mention ‘Antioch,’ and no one knows where it is. Now the notoriety that our team got this year, going 10-0 in the regular season, I mention, ‘Antioch,’ and people who aren’t even college coaches say, ‘Oh, I know where that is. I know about you guys. I’ve heard of your team. I’ve heard of your running back,’ or this or that. It’s really put Antioch on the map.”

Dudley added that when he started coaching at Antioch six years ago, he could not beg anyone enough to click on a highlight tape, but now, he has college coaches and scouts in his inbox “night and day.”

When asked who they credit their success to, Campbell and Omari Harris were thankful for the same three things: God, family and Malu Fitness.

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University announced that Mikah Erin Nunley of Antioch has made the President’s Honor Roll for the 2015 Fall semester.

The President’s Honor Roll recognizes students who stand above the rest with excellent academic performance. To be eligible for the honor roll, undergraduate students must be enrolled in a minimum of nine graded hours in a single term at WSU and earn a grade point average of 3.75 or earn a 3.50 cumulative GPA based on 15 cumulative hours of graded work.

The data displayed in the President’s Honor Roll may be affected by students who restrict the release of some or all information about themselves.

For more information on WSU, visit https://wsu.edu.

Treyvon Hall

The Antioch Chamber of Commerce announced Friday, February 26th the selection of the 2015 Antioch Youth of the Year is Treyvon Hall and the Runner-up is Savannah Vanderzwan, both juniors at Antioch High School.

The Antioch Unified School District, along with the community of the City of Antioch, continues to nurture and grow amazing young adults. The Antioch Chamber of Commerce has the opportunity to recognize the Youth of the Year for 2015 at the Antioch Chamber of Commerce Inaugural Gala on Friday, March 11th.

Treyvon Hall, Antioch High School Junior is being recognized as the Youth of the Year for 2015 and Savannah Vanderzwan, also a junior at Antioch High School Junior is the runner up.

Lucas Stuart-Chilcote, a senior at Dozier-Libbey Medical High School, along with Aimie McGoldrick, a senior at Antioch High School will be recognized as nominees for Youth of the Year.

Treyvon’s extra-curricular activities and club memberships include Conflict Mediation, Tobacco Use Prevention Education(TUPE), National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), Careers In Teaching, Link Crew, Buddy Club, Care Club, Positivity Pals.

In addition, he plays on the JV football team as a receiver and corner, and on the JV volleyball team at Antioch High, and his interests include airplanes, motor sports and fitness.

Treyvon’s future plans include going to college and becoming a pilot or a flight attendant.

According to the Antioch Unified School District’s Facebook page “Both students will be honored at an awards dinner March 11th at the Lone Tree Golf Center. Both Treyvon and Savannah will be recognized for their work with fellow students. Treyvon works with students who are in conflict in order to find a non-violent and satisfying resolution to the conflict. AHS administration states that suspensions are down over 25% this year over last year — something they say Treyvon definitely had a hand in.

Savannah Vanderzwan

Savannah will be recognized for her work with special needs students. Last year, Savannah created the Buddy Club which paired special needs students with other students at Antioch High School. The students eat lunch together, attend events and, recently, attended the Special Olympics together –with AHS students cheering on their special needs friends.”

In addition to recognizing the 2015 Award winners:  Youth of the Year, Citizens of the Year, Non-profit of the Year and Business of the Year, Michele Copeland will receive the Chairman’s Award and Lindana Martell will receive the Ambassador of the Year award.

The Antioch Chamber of Commerce Inaugural Gala will be held on Friday, March 11th, 6 PM at the Lone Tree Golf & Event Center, 4800 Golf Course Road in Antioch. Tickets are on sale now at AntiochChamber.com, emailing JDossey@AntiochChamber.com or by calling (925) 757-1800.

Pearls of Perfection Cotillion dance was held on January 9, 2016 at the San Ramon Marriott. photo courtesy of Jovanka Beckles from her Facebook page.

By Nick Goodrich

The Contra Costa Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta started 2016 off right. On January 9th, their Pearls of Perfection program held its annual Cotillion Ball, in recognition and celebration of the eleven young ladies that successfully completed the 9-month process.

These young women began their journey in early 2015, when they were officially inducted into the program as Debutantes. Nearly a year of hard work and dedication culminated in the black-tie Cotillion Ball, held at the San Ramon Marriott Hotel in San Ramon.

Pearls of Perfection is a comprehensive program that has produced well-rounded graduates since it’s inception. Girls become eligible for Pearls of Perfection after 11^th grade, but may participate as a Lady-in-Waiting for a year before beginning the main program. Once they are accepted as Debutantes, the young ladies attend a series of events and workshops over the next year, focusing on personal growth and education as they prepare for the next step after high school.

Pearls of Perfection’s goal is to provide young women with the resources and ability to succeed in the future, and become active contributors in their community. That means that academic excellence is emphasized, along with etiquette programs, promotion of self-awareness and self-esteem, and other skills that participants can rely on for the rest of their lives. Community service is just one other aspect of the Pearls program, allowing the women the chance to participate in service projects to instill the importance of giving back to the community. The participants even plan out and execute a project to gain leadership and real-world experience, reminiscent of the Boy Scouts of America’s Eagle Scout projects. The current graduates of the program held a fashion show for their project, which sported a dual-theme of “college” and “TV shows”. The ladies began by presenting the colleges they planned to attend, and transitioned to the lighter theme of popular TV shows later in the evening.

But the program’s main focus, and one of the reasons it is valued so highly, is its emphasis on college preparedness. Delta Sigma Theta places a high value on education before, during, and beyond high school, and that is reflected in how Pearls of Perfection is constructed. Ladies undergoing the program participate in a series of college preparedness workshops, including resume-building, scholarship and financial aid seminars, and segments that emphasize awareness of and readiness for the college application process. By the time the annual Cotillion Ball rolls around, these women are focused and prepared for the excitement and challenges that college will bring.

Brenda Captain-Edwards heard about the program in 2015, and it was not long before her daughter Brandi had expressed interest and was enrolled as a Lady-in-Waiting. That part of the program lasts a year, and is available to girls who have not reached the age requirement to become a Debutante, but are eager to get involved. It allows them to experience a healthy dose of Pearls of Perfection before starting as a Debutante, and to get a grasp of what the program is like and what they will be learning.

“Most of the participants started when they were seniors, and went right into the Debutante program,” said Captain-Edwards. “But there were a few others like Brandi that were 11th graders, and were preparing to go into the Debutantes. They’re similar but they do some things differently, like the Mock Trial, which was wonderful. Parents were able to come in and be the jury, so it was really fun.”

Parental involvement is a big part of the Pearls program, and they are able to participate in many of the program’s workshops and events. Mrs. Captain-Edwards found the financial aid and scholarship segment to be particularly helpful, as the college financial aid process can be confusing. But she and her daughter Brandi feel well-versed in the system. Confidence going into the college application process affords families the freedom to thoroughly explore every option and find the best fit for each participant.

As for Brandi, she has gotten a taste for the program after participating as a Lady-in-Waiting, and she is looking forward to the next step.

“Before I got into the program, I kind of thought I would be around snotty people, because you hear the word Debutante,” she laughed. “But once you get to know the girls, they’re the same as yourself. You start hanging out with them more, and it’s just a really good program.”

Brandi, a student at Deer Valley High School, completed the Ladies-in-Waiting program earlier this year, and is set to begin as a Debutante in March. As a junior in high school, she is already a great deal ahead of many of her classmates, who have not had the benefit of preparing for college as thoroughly or early on as Pearls of Perfection participants are able to.

Overall, Pearls of Perfection continues to produce graduates that are prepared to succeed at every stage of their lives. The program recognizes that college is an important part of the foundation that these women will build to rely on in the future, and Brenda and Brandi feel prepared to meet the challenge that it presents. “Since she’s been in the program, what I’ve seen is growth in leadership, etiquette skills, and an overall career awareness, which includes her academics now, and how she’s planning on mapping out her college experience,” said Brenda of her daughter.

“Polished, poised, and prepared” is the mantra of Pearls of Perfection, and they continue to guide young women in meeting these standards to the highest degree. More information on the Pearls of Perfection Program can be found at www.ccacdst.org/debutante.