Pursue Higher Education - California College San Diego

A4 • Thursday May 23, 2013 • The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
Three Generations
Pursue Higher Education
By Kimetha Hill
Staff Writer
Education is the cornerstone to a successful life. And no matter what age, it
is something to be pursued, to not only
enhance one’s life, but to fulfill it. For
one family, they have placed education
at the forefront, and aim to be an example for others of all ages that education
is attainable. Mr. Victor Hayes, retired
military veteran, has led the charge in
furthering his education, followed by
his son, Terrel Hayes and 72 year old
mother-in-law, Ms. Diane Banks.
“I spent 23 years in United States
Army and didn’t know what I was going to do when I retired. So I decided to
go back to school,” recalls Mr. Hayes,
51. He was led to San Diego through
the military and once he and his family
arrived, he learned of California College of San Diego. Mr. Hayes’ wife
also serves in the military and is currently active duty; he is pursing a career in computer technology.
On bringing the family into his pursuit of education, Mr. Hayes says, “My
youngest son went to the school also
to obtain his GED during the same
time. We brought my mother-in-law
out here and found out she wanted to
get her GED so it became a family af-
fair for us to go to school together. We
would leave the house around 7:30 in
the morning and carpool and get there
early because our classes started at different times.”
Mr. Hayes’ son Terrel shares in his father’s excitement in furthering his education, stating that he decided to obtain
his GED because his high school diploma was not originally accepted by
his former school, University of Phoenix. He then moved to California and
after his father spoke to California College on his behalf, he signed up.
“This experience has definitely
brought us closer together as a family.
There are moments where my father
Legacy in
Black
Madam C.J. Walker
More than a Beauty Mogul
By Latanya West
Contributing Writer
One sun-swept afternoon, four
women stood on an Indianapolis
neighborhood sidewalk and happily
posed for a picture. Behind them, a
rickety white frame house set back
from the street bore a three foot high
sign that announced: The Madame
C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. No wonder their smiles were
bright. It was 1910. Slavery was still
a fresh pain and Jim Crow was an ever-present terror but this was the start
of something big. Madame CJ Walker, one of American’s first female
self-made millionaires, was helping
‘Walker Agents’ just like them reach
financial independence.
An entrepreneur, social activist and
philanthropist, Madame CJ Walker
built a beauty products empire worth
several million dollars (in today’s
dollars). Between 1906 and 1919, decades before Mary Kay Ash, of Mary
Kay Cosmetics fame, was even born,
Madame Walker’s nearly 20,000
“Walker Agents” sold Madame C.J.
Walker Wonderful Hair beauty products door-to-door across the U.S.,
the Caribbean and Central America.
Few women, black or white, were in
business for themselves at the time,
and few ever reached the millionaire
status Walker enjoyed.
Born Sarah Breedlove in 1867 to
former slaves, she was orphaned at 7 two, Charles James Walker, an adin the Louisiana delta region, married vertising man who encouraged her to
at 14, a mother at 17, and widowed by
See Mogul page B5
age 20. By 1905, this former washerwoman was on husband number
needed help with
his homework and I
would help him, or I
was stuck on something and he would
try and lend his hand.
My grandmother and
I help each other out
too because at one
point we were in the
same class, which was social studies. We could compare notes and note taking
strategies,” said Terrel, 21.
Both Mr. Hayes and Terrel express that age should have nothing to do with
one’s pursuit of education. And Mr. Hayes pushes that even through the intimidation one may feel on going back to school, to battle through those initial feelings because the outcome is always great.
“All the personnel at California College made it a lot easier because they encouraged us and gave the opportunity to pursue a higher education. Never give
up your dream of education. Education is always worth it. You can never lose
out by going back to school.”
Terrel preached on the platform of dedication. “Regardless of whether it’s
your GED or Associates Degree or whatever, I think the best thing that people
should know is that you have to be dedicated. You can’t go in for a semester and
then if it doesn’t work out say ‘I quit’. You have to stay dedicated and you have
to study. Even with the GED program, I studied and made sure I knew exactly
what the teacher was talking about. Once you slack off, it hinders you, it becomes a problem. Stay focused.” He adds that a great support system can make
the difference in successfully pursuing an education. Terrel has absolutely benefitted from a great support system within his family.
Mr. Hayes began his degree program in November 2012 and will graduate
June 2014. Terrel completed his GED program this past February.
Mr. Hayes adds, “Pursuing an education is scary, but once you start it, you’ll
realize that it’s not really that scary at all. If I can do it, anybody can do it.”
This three-generation family has exemplified how dedication and support can
truly make a different in someone’s life; not only individually, but on the collective family unit.
Emory University
Acquires the
Papers of Ophelia
DeVore Mitchell
Howard University
Awards 96 Ph.D.s
At its recent spring commencement ceremonies, Howard University in Washington, D.C. awarded 96 Ph.D. degrees. This year, 16 Ph.D.s were awarded in engineering
or the physical sciences. There were 31 Ph.D.s awarded
in the arts and humanities, 25 in the biological and life sciences, and 24 in the social sciences. The university states
that since 1996 it has awarded more doctoral degrees to
on-campus African American students than any other university in the United States.
Howard University awarded its first Ph.D. degree in
1958. The university currently offers 28 Ph.D. programs.
Courtesy of Journal of Blacks in Higher Ed
Courtesy of Journal of Blacks in Higher Ed
Emory University has acquired the
papers of Ophelia DeVore Mitchell,
the founder of one of the first modeling agencies for African Americans
and a pioneer in the “Black Is Beautiful” movement. Among the African
American celebrities that got their
start through her modeling agency were Diahann Carroll and Cicely
Tyson.
DeVore was born in South Carolina
to mixed-race parents in 1922. At the
age of 11, she was sent to live with
an aunt in New York City. She began
modeling for Ebony magazine at the
age of 16. At the age of 24, she cofounded Grace del Marco Models.
Two years later she opened the Oph-
elia DeVore School of Charm. The
school closed in 2006.
In 1968, she married Vernon Mitchell, the publisher of the Columbus
Times, an African American newspaper in Georgia. Mitchell passed away
in 1972 but Ophelia DeVore Mitchell
continues to own the newspaper today,
which she runs with her daughter.
The Manuscript, Archives, and Rare
Book Library at Ebony University
has not cataloged or archived the collection but it allowing researchers access to the documents. The collection
includes correspondence, business records, photographs, scrapbooks, and
other documents.