As a fifth grader, Camara Carter was involved with the EarthFoundation, an international land preservation group. By the time she graduated from Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone last month she had helped save more than 31 acres of land worldwide.
Carter's community service and academic achievements led her to become a 2011 W.E.B. Du Bois scholar.
Du Bois' dedication to academic greatness inspired Etienne LeGrand and her husband Hal Logan to establish the Atlanta-based W.E.B. Du Bois Society in 2004. The group is named for the renowned author and scholar who taught at Atlanta University in the 1930s. The Du Bois society promotes academic excellence and a love of the arts in the African- American community. Thousands of students take part in the group's activities each year.
"They are a phenomenal group of young people," LeGrand said. "They are symbols of what young people should aspire to be."
The society offers programs from first-12th grade. One of the programs, The WEB, brings like-minded students together on Saturdays to learn life skills and to meet African American executives. The society also has programs to help students with writing skills and peer studying. All the activities stress academic excellence, especially the W.E.B. Du Bois Scholars, LeGrand said. To become a scholar, students must submit SAT scores and participate in a series of interviews.
Asha Harris, a Parkview High School graduate who will attend Georgia Tech in the fall, said the program gave her confidence "to push through" when she struggled with being accepted as a female working in male-dominated math and science programs.
During a week of recognition at the end of each school year, scholars participate in a variety of events, including lunch with Atlanta City Council members and a tour of the Alliance Theatre. The activities are aimed at helping the students improve their networking skills. These are the rewards of academic achievement, said LeGrand.
"Exposure is essential to the formation of all of us," she said.
Kevin Smith, a graduate of Redan High School in Stone Mountain plans to attend Boston University. The week of recognition gave him good insight into his future.
"I met a lot of wonderful and talented people," he said.
Smith was a member of his high school drum line and tried to make any organization he participated in more successful. Julia Davis, a graduate of the Carver School of Health Sciences and Research in Atlanta found out that high school was not the "end all be all."
"I knew there was bigger competition out there," said Davis, who plans to attend Spelman College on a full scholarship.
Danielle Daley, a graduate of The Westminster School in Atlanta who is headed to Georgetown University, said all the scholars want to make a difference. Students who are not members of the scholars program find it inspirational, Daley said, and they want to be involved.
"They are the new rock stars," LeGrand said of the scholars.
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