May 18, 2017—The Minority Achievement Committee (MAC) Scholars honored its 10 graduating seniors and presented awards to freshmen, sophomore and junior scholars at its 27th recognition ceremony this afternoon. MAC Scholars are high achieving African-American males who meet regularly with capable but underachieving ninth and tenth grade African-American males in an effort to encourage and motivate them to work toward greater success in school.
The Scholars welcomed guest speaker Dr. Dante Roulette (SHHS '94), a gynecologist and chief of robotic surgery at Summa Akron City Hospital. Roulette shared the story of his own path of growth through perseverance, confidence and reinvention. He told the students how his near failure in geometry during his freshman year at SHHS taught him about perseverance. “My parents told me, ‘We will not give up on you. You are going to succeed. And it’s not over until you decide it’s over.’,” Roulette told the audience. His success at Shaker Heights High School took him to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which led him to medical school at Case Western Reserve. “You have to be confident to have a dream,” Roulette said. “And you have to be confident to make a dream a reality.” He finished by emphasizing the importance of reinvention, announcing that he just learned that he’s been accepted to business school.
Widely emulated by schools all over the United States, the program was initiated by high-achieving African-American students in 1990 and continues to be led by high-achieving juniors and seniors. Key elements of the program include goal setting, mentoring, help with study skills, use of the academic support resources available at the High School, and public recognition of academic improvement.
Congratulations to the Class of 2017 MAC Scholars:
George Evans III - Ohio University
Daniel Falokun - Miami University
Isiah Gatheright - Howard University
Demetrius Gest Jr. - Ohio University
Micah Gundani - Ohio University
Noah Jalango - Lehigh University
Sean McMillan - Cuyahoga Community College
Garrett Williams III - Wright State University
Kameron Willis - Morehouse College
Tyler Binda - Xavier University