Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Houston Jack Yates High School

Quinnites-

Lee Williams (PQC Director of Enrollment Management) and I spent today in Houston, Texas at Jack Yates High School.  I'm sure that some of you are familiar with Yates High School.  It sits squarely between Texas Southern University and the University of Houston.  Yates also just won the 2009 UIL Class 4A state championship over Kimball High School (coached by my friend Snoop Johnson).  Our reason for being at Yates today, however, had nothing to do with basketball.  We were there to visit our good friend Principal Mumphrey  and to recruit stars from a different Yates stage- the classroom.  Our trip paid off.  We left Yates with a commitment from senior and 5-star academic recruit- Niko Nkululeko.  Niko has agreed to join the fall 2009 incoming class at PQC.  He is our second such commitment in a week (April Cotton from Little Rock's JA Fair was the first).  Additionally, due to Niko's stellar academic achievements (he has a 3.7 gpa and ranks in the top 10% of his class) he will be attending Paul Quinn as a Presidential Scholar. We are thrilled to be the school of choice for Niko and we look forward to adding more students from Yates.  There is a strong Quinnite spirit that runs through the corridors of Yates.  It will only get stronger as time moves forward.

Thank you Niko for being the first, but definitely not the last, member of the modern Yates family to join the Quinnite Movement.  We'll see you in September.

Take care,
President Sorrell

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Welcome New Faces

Quinnites-

One of the best parts of writing this blog is the opportunity to connect with some old friends.  As I reviewed the latest list of "followers", I came across the name of LaQuasha Drisdale.  Drisdale is one of my favorite Quinnite alums.  She graduated last year and gained fame on campus for her unique opening prayers at campus functions. (smile)  It's great to see her name.  I'm glad she's back with us.

Take care,
President Sorrell


Friday, March 13, 2009

Spring Break Trip


The team from the Quinnite Nation spent their Spring Break on a "Quinnite Quest" and living up to the "4 Ls of Quinnite Leadership".  These pictures show part of the team that traveled to New Orleans to help rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.  Our students rebuilt homes, fed the homeless, built fences and painted structures.  We are extremely proud of their dedication to "leaving places better than they found them".

Take care,
President Sorrell



Sunday, March 8, 2009

Happenings on the Yard

Greetings Quinnites:

As we head into Spring Break, I hope that everyone will return from their week hiatus renewed, recharged and ready to close out the 2008-09 school year with a fury.  With that wish in mind, here's what's been happening on the Yard:

UNCF Day at Mt. Rose Baptist Church: On Saturday, February 28th, Paul Quinn College Trustee Erma Johnson Hadley hosted "UNCF Day" at her Ft. Worth church- Mt. Rose Baptist Church.  This event allowed us to show off our wonderful students, raise money for the school and continue to solidify our relationship with Tarrant County College District.  Thank you Trustee Johnson Hadley for always being a tireless advocate for the Quinnite Nation.

Media Day:  Our new Director of Communications, Ms. Cheryl Smith, organized our first "Media Day".  The event was extremely well-attended and received. A sampling of the coverage we received can be found in the March 6th edition of the Dallas Weekly and on the following weblinks: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/29413811/ and http:cbs11tv.com/video/?id=39276@ktvt.dayport.com.  

Olympians Grace the Yard:   The husband and wife team of Olympians Oba Thompson and Marion Jones-Thompson spent last Tuesday experiencing life as a Quinnite.  They toured classes, dined in the cafeteria and attended staff meetings.  All of these things led up to them being the inaugural speakers of our new lecture series- "Conversations with the Quinnites".  The maiden voyage of "Conversations" was a hit as it played to a standing room only crowd that included past "Tuesdays in February" speakers Michael Davis and Rich Nichols.  The Thompsons charmed the crowd with their storytelling and obvious affection for each other.

Support the Dream Act: Quinnites believe in fighting injustices wherever they exist.  Once such injustice is the treatment of children whose parents are undocumented workers.  The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act) is a bipartisan legislation the would permit a select group of undocumented students conditional legal status and eventual citizenship if they satisfy the following requirements:

1) they were brought to the US before the age of 16,
2) are below the age of 30,
3) have lived in the US continuously for five years,
4) graduated from a US high school or obtained a GED,
5) have good moral character with no criminal record, and
6) attend college or enlist in the military for at least two years. 

Please join us in making your voice heard and sign the Dream Act petition showing your support for these Americans.  Go to http://dreamactivist.org/take-action-2/petition/ and sign up today. 

Red River Honors:  The women's basketball team wrapped up their breakout season by finishing fourth in the Red River Athletic Conference (12-6* most conference wins in over 10 years).  Their peers recognized their efforts by tapping senior Crystal Debose (1st team All-Conference), senior Hannah Debose (2nd team All-Conference), junior Ashley Proctor (2nd team All-Conference) and freshman Tarneshia "Spoon" Burns (Honorable Mention All-Conference) for Red River recognition.  On the men's side, junior Carl Nelson was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year and 1st team All-Conference.  Joining him were honorable mention selections senior Johnathan Alexander and junior Joe Cormadelle.  Please join me in congratulating all of our student-athletes on this wonderful accomplishment.

The Haggerty Family:  It is with great sadness that I ask you to keep Quinnites Andy and Blue Haggerty in your prayers.  The Haggerty family recently suffered the loss of their mother ("Ma Haggerty").  Funeral services were held yesterday at the Greater Mt. Hebron Baptist Church in Dallas.  Quinnites everywhere are keeping the Haggerty family in their thoughts and their prayers.  Stay faithful brothers.

I'll be blogging this week from the annual President's Spring Break Service Trip.  Last year, we visited Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC.  This year, we will be helping to restore the great city of New Orleans.  Look for our updates.

Take care,
President Sorrell