TSU eNEws May 11-17, 2015

YOUR WEEKLY TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ELECTRONIC NEWS & INFORMATION SOURCE
FROM THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS – (713) 313-4205
Tassels Turn for Four Graduates
in the Same Family
Graduating is the pinnacle achievement in
most young people’s lives. It is the culmination
of several years of learning, growing and
maturing into someone that is prepared to
produce positive results that will serve
themselves and society productively. One local
family will get to experience the joy and
celebrations that graduating brings four times in
less than a month as the entire family of four
are graduating and moving onto a new chapter
in their lives.
Loletha Turner (right), a single mother of
three will receive her Accounting MBA from
Texas Southern University May 16; her
daughter, Carletha Smith (left), just days ago
marched across stage to receive the Associates
Degree from Lone Star College on May 9; son,
Jerrin Turner (center), will graduate from
Humble High School May 23; and daughter,
Lailah Thompson (front), will graduate from
Humble Vista Academy June 4, from
kindergarten to first grade. --See Family on page 3
“It has
been a roller
coasterHouse
experience
“Crowns” Cast Brings
Down
The
preparing for four straight weekends of
graduation ceremonies,”
says of the
Proceeds Benefit Scholarships
atTurner
TSU
experience. “I only realized about three weeks
ago that we will all be wearing graduation caps
and gowns. Everyone has been busy trying to
finish these final days of classes, but I think
that we are finally getting to a point where we
feel like we can breathe and see the light at the
end of the tunnel.”
Taking a cue from their mother who instilled in them that they must make a commitment to
and finish what they start, Carletha is continuing her studies in the hopes of becoming a nurse
practitioner and Jerrin, who will graduate in the top 10% of his class, will study engineering.
Lailah, as she prepares to leave the ‘kindergarten baby’ status behind, is already advanced for
first grade level. Loletha herself will be graduating with honors and was recently inducted into
the Jesse H. Jones Beta Gamma Sigma international honor society chapter.
While this was not planned and sort of just happened, it has been no easy task to get to this
point. Loletha and Carletha both work full-time and Jerrin works part time. Every one pitches in
and helps with Lailah and sometimes they only see each other in passing. Loletha gives credit
for this accomplishment to her Christian faith and the support she receives from her mother and
several of her co-workers who hold her up on days when she feels like she can’t go on. Despite
dealing with close family medical emergencies over the past few months that could have taken
her off track of finishing her master’s program she has fought through it and found a way to deal
with
the things
came her
“Hatitude
is that
something
youway.
have to possess to wear a hat well.” – Velma.
“It’s
tough being
a single
mother;
am living
proof that whatever
you want to
The highly
anticipated
return
of thehowever,
nationalIstage
play CROWNS
at Texas Southern
accomplish
can
be
done.
I
believe
that
it
takes
a
village
to
raise
children
because
one person
University Mother's Day weekend proved to be a theatrical and entertainment masterpiece.
can’t do it all.
want to beby
that
model
citizen
give back
and help
CROWNS
wasI produced
TSU’s
HATS
andtoTIES
committee
andothers.”
title sponsored by CocaAs for
celebrating
everyone’s
accomplishments,
Loletha and
plans
to have
one big party
Cola.
Theasmusical
included
Grammy
nominee Dottie Peoples
some
of Houston's
top in
June
to
celebrate.
“I
want
to
celebrate
my
kids,
not
necessarily
myself,
but
them.
Because
as a
vocalists, including, from left: Bracy Manson Johnson, Gerra Gistand, Gwen Harris, Dottie
parent
I feel
that is what
I should
do. Trying
to getPresented
them intotwo
college
taken
a lot of energy
Peoples,
Terrance
Bolton
and Takisha
Bendy.
soul has
stirring
performances
that
and
all that iscaptivated
done I willand
look
planfeet
a celebration.”
keptonce
the audience
onto
their
throughout.
--See Crowns on page 4
May 11-17, 2015
1 of 4
Houston Airport System – William
P. Hobby Airport, Hobby Fest
Six Texas Southern University Aviation Science
students participated in the fourth annual Hobby Fest
and competed for five $1,000 Allen T. Johnson
Memorial Scholarships. The call for abstracts went to
Sterling High School’s aviation program, and Carnegie
Prep Charter School. Both schools participate in the
Houston Airports System Aviation Club, as well as,
San Jacinto College, Embry Riddle Aeronautical
University, and Texas Southern University. Students
had to complete a research paper on topics that were
provided by the scholarship committee and present their
findings at the kick-off event for Hobby Fest. The
winners, Micah Harper, Delecia Holmes, Jesse Soto,
Onyekachi Nwaokolo, and Lydia Ndagire were
announced shortly after the presentations. Harper is a
four time recipient of the Allen T. Johnson Memorial
Scholarship and is the only student to have done so
since the inception of the scholarship.
General Counsel of Toyota to Address
Law School Spring Graduates
Upcoming graduates of the
Thurgood Marshall School of Law are
in for a special treat as Toyota Motor
Corporation is pleased to announce that
a member of their Global Leadership
Team, Sandra L. Phillips, will be the
guest keynote speaker at their spring
commencement Hooding Ceremony on
Friday, May 15th at 6:30 pm at the
Health and Physical Education Arena.
Phillips, who currently serves as General Counsel
and Chief Legal Officer of Toyota Motor North
America, made history as the first African American
female named to this position. Phillips oversees Toyota
Legal One ("TL1"), the legal services function for
Toyota’s operations in North America, where she was
instrumental in building this integrated legal services
group. She is responsible for business operations
--See Law on page 2
support, litigation, intellectual property, regulatory
YOUR WEEKLY TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ELECTRONIC NEWS &
INFORMATION SOURCE
FROM THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS – (713) 313-4205
May11-17, 2015
Page 2 of 4
Texas Southern Softball will travel to Baton
Rouge for NCAA Tournament
Texas Southern received its automatic qualification to the NCAA tournament after
defeating Alabama State University in the SWAC softball championship game, 9-0.
Texas Southern University (25-16) enters the 2015 NCAA Softball Tournament facing the
No. 5 national seed, LSU (44-11), Friday, May 15 at Tiger Park.
The Lady Tigers will journey to Baton Rouge, La., to compete in their second NCAA
tournament in program history. With a double elimination bracket, the NCAA Baton Rouge
Regional begins Friday, May 15 through Sunday, May 17. TSU will play LSU May 15 at 6:00
p.m.
The Texas Southern versus LSU game will be televised live on ESPN2.
Tickets can be purchased through the LSU Athletic Ticket Office at 800-960-8587 or 225578-2184; Monday – Friday, 8:00am – 5:00pm. Tickets will also be available online
at www.LSUtix.net
Golf Teams Compete at 29th
Minority PGA Championships
Texas Southern University Men's and Women's Golf
competed at the 29th PGA Minority Golf Championship
this past weekend and the Tigers and Lady Tigers
garnered several top finishes at the highly competitive
event.
The Women's team finished in fourth place led
by Kassandra Rivera and Cherie Chua who finised
first and second on the team respectively. On the men's
side William Wells tied for seventh place in the
Individual Invitational. The Championship featured 220
players representing 50 colleges and universities, 12
countries and two U.S. territories.
The PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship
has elevated golf in minority colleges and universities
by providing opportunities for players to compete in a
national championship.
Retool Your School Announces
TSU as 2015 Winner
Law…continued from page 1
support, litigation, intellectual property, regulatory law and legal operations, and for managing
representation of Toyota’s affiliates in North America.
She joined Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. (TMS) in 2012 and served as Vice President and
Assistant General Counsel and has played a key role in overseeing complex litigation matters.
In July 2014, she was promoted to
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of TMS.
Phillips, a native of Beaumont, Texas, is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin where
she earned both her bachelor’s and law degrees.
TSU News
TSU E-News NOW Credits:
The deadline to submit news or information for
TSU E-News is Thursday’s at noon for the
following week’s edition. Submissions may be
sent to [email protected] or [email protected].
For any questions or comments, call Eva
Pickens at 713-313-4205.
Marcie Brooks-Community Outreach; Andrew McCray-Media
Writer/Graphics; Earlie Hudnall-University Photographer;
Kendrick Callis-Communications Specialist; Rodney Bush
Marketing/Communications; Tiffany Asberry-Administrative
Assistant; Eva Pickens-AVP of Communications
Darrel Bunch, left, executive director of Buildings
and Grounds, is shown with a Melissa Gray Brown of
Home Depot, accepting the $25,000 check after TSU
was announced as the winner of the 2015 Campus Pride
Grant.
Home Depot held a live awards event bestowing
more than a quarter million dollars in grants to
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, funding
their campus renovation and beautification projects.
In 2009, The Home Depot created Retool Your
School, which aligns the company’s vision for
community service with one of the main pillars in the
African American community, education. Giving back
is one of the world’s largest home improvement
retailer’s core values.
YOUR WEEKLY TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ELECTRONIC NEWS &
INFORMATION SOURCE
FROM THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS – (713) 313-4205
May 11-17, 2015
Page 3 of 4
A Masterpiece: TSU’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Lysander loves Hermia and Hermia loves Lysander, but her father wants her to marry Demetrius.
Demetrius loves Hermia but used to love Helena, and Helena loves Demetrius. Simple. Right? Written
by William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is one of his most well-known comedies. Taking
place in a mythical Athens and an enchanted forest, there is a fairy king and his queen, a misguided
parent, star-crossed lovers, a weaver who's transformed into a half-donkey, a duke and duchess, and
fairies.
The Theatre Program at Texas Southern University took on the challenge of producing the play under
the direction of Dr. Dianne Jemison Pollard, an expert in
Shakespeare. “This multi-media production was a collaboration between TSU Theatre and the Radio,
Television and Film Department with Dr. Chris Ulasi, Chair of RTF, taking the helm in filming four
scenes.
The play was superb in every way from the Elizabethan verse that the actors handled beautifully to the
outstanding costumes by Rosarito Gonzalez and a beautiful set with area lighting that produced a quiet
and elegant enchanted forest by Chris Beineman and ethereal stage makeup by Jemison Pollard that made
the characters come alive on stage.
This was the first time a play at TSU was presented as digital drama, thus filming scenes and other scenes staged live. The audience sat and watched the
first two scenes and last two scenes that took place in the palace and the home of Quince as if they were spending the night at the movies. During the same
showing the audience was placed in a beautiful enchanted forest staged live for the other scenes.
Dr. Ulasi filmed the actors before Spring Break in the TV Studio in MLK. His expertise in this area was displayed as he is a veteran film maker. Dr.
Jemison Pollard who has staged many shows here at TSU showed why she is a seasoned professional as she meshed the cast of 19 actors, alumni and
students, into one seamless flow with smooth transitions. Dr. Jemison Pollard taught the actors the iambic pentameter verse that she learned in graduate
school at the Uni. of Wisconsin. The actors were so poised and seemed to embrace the language that was rich and vibrant.
Congratulations to TSU Theatre and the Radio, TV, and Film Department for taking a risk that paid off. The audience was packed, though it rained every
evening of the show. That in itself speaks to the quality of producing a period play that was authentic to the Elizabethan period for Houston audiences to see
at an HBCU.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream was presented in Ollington Smith Playhouse at Texas Southern University, April 16- 19. A special performance for middle
and high school students was presented in Granville Sawyer Auditorium on Wednesday morning, April 15.
Family…continued from page 1
“It has been a roller coaster experience preparing for four straight
weekends of graduation ceremonies,” Turner says of the experience. “I
only realized about three weeks ago that we will all be wearing
graduation caps and gowns. Everyone has been busy trying to finish
these final days of classes, but I think that we are finally getting to a
point where we feel like we can breathe and see the light at the end of the
tunnel.”
Taking a cue from their mother who instilled in them that they must
make a commitment to and finish what they start, Carletha is continuing
her studies in the hopes of becoming a nurse practitioner and Jerrin, who
will graduate in the top 10% of his class, will study engineering. Lailah,
as she prepares to leave the ‘kindergarten baby’ status behind, is already
advanced for first grade level. Loletha herself will be graduating with
honors and was recently inducted into the Jesse H. Jones Beta Gamma
Sigma international honor society chapter.
While this was not planned and sort of just happened, it has been no
easy task to get to this point. Loletha and Carletha both work full-time
and Jerrin works part time. Every one pitches in and helps with Lailah
and sometimes they only see each other in passing. Loletha gives credit
for this accomplishment to her Christian faith and the support she
receives from her mother and several of her co-workers who hold her up
on days when she feels like she can’t go on. Despite dealing with close
family medical emergencies over the past few months that could have
taken her off track of finishing her master’s program she has fought
through it and found a way to deal with the things that came her way.
“It’s tough being a single mother; however, I am living proof that
whatever you want to accomplish can be done. I believe that it takes a
village to raise children because one person can’t do it all. I want to be
that model citizen to give back and help others.”
As for as celebrating everyone’s accomplishments, Loletha plans to
have one big party in June to celebrate. “I want to celebrate my kids, not
necessarily myself, but them. Because as a parent I feel that is what I
should do. Trying to get them into college has taken a lot of energy and
once all that is done I will look to plan a celebration.”
YOUR WEEKLY TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY ELECTRONIC NEWS &
INFORMATION SOURCE
FROM THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS – (713) 313-4205
May 11-17, 2015
Page 4 of 4
Crowns…continued from page 1
Nearly 2,000 TSU supporters filed into Sawyer Auditorium for the two performances - hats were everywhere and in exquisite variety. HATS and TIES
founder Eva Pickens served as the emcee while TSU’s First Lady Mrs. Docia Rudley and TSU Provost Dr. James Ward welcomed and thanked the audience
for their attendance and support of Texas Southern University. TSU’s President Dr. John Rudley welcomed the guests on Saturday.
The ladies from the 40 Plus Models stole the pre-show Saturday as they graced the stage one by one twirling, twisting and modeling their glorious crowns.
At intermission and after hearing from headlining Gospel sensation Dottie Peoples, Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee presented Peoples with a
Congressional resolution for her gift of providing thought provoking inspirational music throughout her 30 plus year career as a Gospel singer. Jackson-Lee
also presented a proclamation to the HATS & TIES Committee and commended the members for their work to raise money for student scholarships and
support programs at TSU.
When the curtains were raised CROWNS began when Yolanda, (played by High School for Performing and Visual Arts student Gerra Gistand) a high
school girl from Brooklyn, devastated by the murder of her beloved brother who starts to hang out with the wrong crowd and is sent down South to live with
her hat-wearing, hymn-singing grandmother.
As the play moves, Yolanda is gradually transformed along the way and imparted wisdom of her grandmother’s church-going, hat-wearing friends;
women whose hats and hat etiquette has attitude in a slew of personal stories from the civil rights movement, to the sit-in’s of the 60’s, to churches in small
towns, to black college campuses, and to baptisms and funerals. Throughout the play there are old familiar songs like, Mary Don’t You Weep, Wade in the
Water, His Eye Is OnThe Sparrow, Run and Tell That, Wade in the Water, and countless others that led the audience to become a church congregation
joining in the chorus as actors/actresses led the various verses.
LaTonya Earl (Velma, the good-time girl who has gone straight) and Gwen Harris (Mabel, the Preacher’s Wife) were among the standouts, drawing
interest from the local population of their Houston-based churches, choirs, co-workers, friends and family members; TSU Student Government President
Terrance Bolton (Pastor) fulfilled his final obligation to his university on a high note; Takisha Bendy (Jeanette); TSU alumnus was extraordinary and
energized the crowd from the moment she hit the stage; and Manson Bracy Johnson (Husband) rounded out the cast with strong vocals and a huge stage
presence. Cheveria Williams was the stage manager and Jasmine Carter, assistant stage manager. They were excellent in their roles. Charla ParkerThompson, LaTanya Perry, Kimberly Edwards, Eric T. White, and Tomeka Robinson made up the choir ensemble.
Keith Eason of Ft. Bend Church was the musical director over musicians; Nelson Lefluer, keyboard; Shamaal Blaise, drums; Jason Perry, percussion
and sound effects; Omar Perez, bass; and Stephanie Blue, pianist/keyboard.
Dottie Peoples sang her signature hits, “He’s an On Time God”, and “He Meant It for Me.” She treated the audience to her new release, “I Got This,”
which got the audience clapping and shouting each time she appeared on stage.
TSU would like to thank the following sponsors and honorary/executive committee members: Tiffany Asberry, Carla West, Sharon Carter, Connie
Cochran, Adrian Hall, Nata Koerber, Booker Morris, Mellany Patrong, Paula Eakin, Magdelene Livings (Coordinator of “Pre-Loved” Hats),
Travis Hamilton & Negris LeBrum, Mrs. Doris Ratliff, Mrs. Stephanie Paige, Ms. Diane Nicholson-Jones, Birtenna Bennett, Georgia Provost,
Pauline Cheatham, Ethel Gunter, James W. Ward, Wendy Adair, Docia Rudley, Janis Newman, Linda Coach-Riley, Sylvester Turner, Rev. James
Dixon, Judy Dyer, Marilyn Square, Michelle Owens, Office of University Advancement, Dr. William Saunders, TSU Division of Student Affairs,
Office of Alumni Relations, Walker Entertainment Group, KTSU-FM Radio, 40-Plus Models, McQueen’s Custom Suits and Ties, Dr. Michael
Adams and TSU eMPA, Sodexo, TSU Barnes and Noble Bookstore, Unity National Bank, Burner Combustion, Challenge Office Products, Horizon
Group International, Architectural Floors, Ultimate Divas Designer Hats, Gulfgate Dodge, Poindexter Dental Group, Bud’s House of Meat, A/W
Mechanical Services, Lilly Grove Baptist Church, Managed Medical Associates, Inc., Provost and Associates, Houston Style Magazine, TSU Office
of the Provost, Exclusively Yours by Pauline/Eugene Trapp, Ada Lee Lacy and L.G. Lacy, and Alan Helfman.
Other pre-show acts included; Ft. Bend Academy Dance Group, led by Chasidy Carter; Divine Restoration, led by Bertha Johnson and Adrian Hall;
Amanda Davis and Kenneth DeVon Eakins; dance groups Sixth grader Jordan Bush thrilled the crowd with his musical talents on the piano. Look for
Jordan to have a starring role next year.
“We believe that we’ve found a niche to continue to bring this wonderful play to the campus of Texas Southern University. Our goals were realized – that
of bringing blended local talent of our TSU students, alumni and former students, and the community together for a memorable, enjoyable and worthwhile
initiative,” stated Eva Pickens, who served as the Executive Producer.
“We want to thank everyone involved. If you passed out a flyer, sold a ticket, carried a chair or props, learned lines, helped to get the word out…if you
participated in the success of this initiative in any way, I want to personally thank you. Everything was AWESOME…BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW, HE’S
ON TIME.
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!