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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2016)
Page 4 June 1, 2016 Allen Temple CME Church P ortlAnd o bserver 2016 PASTOR’S APPRECIATION AutoReview S i e n n a TOYOTA Please join us in honoring our Pastor Dr. LeRoy Haynes, Jr. Pastor • Teacher • Civil-Rights Leader Author • Spiritual Leader Speaker: Reverend Robert C. Jointer Bethesda Baptist Church Theme “Pressing Toward The Higher Calling” Philippians 3:13-14 Date: Time: Where: Sunday, June 05, 2016 4:00 pm Maranatha Church 4222 NE 12th Avenue Portland OR The 2016 Toyota Sienna has all the room you need for comfort and cargo but value is also tops as the Sienna is rated the 2016 Best Resale Value for a Minivan/Van by Kelly Blue Book. The Sienna comes with a sunroof, heated leather seats, a third row seat, Bluetooth, iPod/ MP3 Input, and power liftgate, New Location: Now in Hollywood District, 4211 NE Sandy Blvd $ 00 6 Phone: 503.310.3600 menu at reosribs.com Coke Special: BBQ Chicken Sandwich or Pulled Pork Sandwich, with French Fries or Coleslaw & a Soft Drink. 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The materials quality is very good and the dash design is modern and attractive. Seating is acceptance rate into the school and Sekai’s lack of a high school theater program to tout, her reser- vations were warranted. Yet SEI wasn’t going to let Sekai’s talents go unnoticed. En- rolled with the non-proit organi- zation since her freshman year, her abilities were recognized early by her teachers and men- tors, according to SEI President and Chief Executive Oficer Tony Hopson. SEI was more than hap- py to morally and inancially sup- port her efforts. “The idea has always been to take our African American stu- dents in the community and get them to reach their full potential,” says Anthony Deloney, the di- rector of SEI’s After School and Summer Programs. “But Sekai is so driven; she knows the things she’s trying to do.” Jefferson is one of a few PPS institutions under SEI’s wing and has so far seen a great deal of suc- cess with improving student out- comes, especially the 30 percent increase in Jefferson’s graduation rates since SEI began offering their various support services like mentoring and tutoring. “In our culture, a lot of people think ‘what’s the way you can be successful? Play basketball, be a rapper’ -- basically all these things the media tells us we can be. But we’ve always said that life has options. That’s our motto. There are so many things you can do to be successful, so many different avenues,” says Deloney. “What- ever we can do, we want to jump in. The only thing we ask is that when you become that super ce- lebrity that you come back and in- spire that next generation of kids. That’s how we’ve been able to do this for 35 years.” Sekai is one of just seven Afri- can American students nationally accepted into the renowned school this year, though she doesn’t rec- ognize this as any sort of compe- tition and more as an opportunity to be a part of a thriving black cre- ative community. “I think sometimes we’re taught that the reasons we are places are because we’re black and not be- cause we have the talent. I have to remind myself that I have the talent. I know what kind of actor I am and it encompasses me being a black woman, but a lot of that en- compasses other parts of me and who I am,” says Sekai. “I don’t want to be seen as the only black woman in the room. I want to be seen as Sekai, the actress that can do this and that. Either I’ll be right for the part or not, but it won’t be because I’m black.” As part of her transition into the next chapter in her life, Sekai has chosen to drop her last name Ed- wards. “That name isn’t a part of my people,” says Sekai. “It comes from our family’s slave owners. I don’t want any part of that.” She hopes that other students don’t let their inhibitions stop them in their tracks, like they al- most did for her. “Sometimes we see what peo- ple want us to see. With social media, you’re seeing what that person wants you to see. When someone looks at me, they see me as someone who got into Juilliard and is really successful. What you don’t see is the scholarship that I didn’t win, the school I didn’t get into, the time I took third place or didn’t place and the time that I failed. We tend to look at every time someone succeeds but we don’t see the 20 times that they failed in between. A lot of times we get discouraged when we fail or fall down but understand that you learn from that. You get up and you apply for the next thing. You don’t know if that’s what will get you to the next level or not, you have no idea what’s going to happen down the road. You try. If you’re shooting all the time for things, eventually you’re going to hit something. That’s what I say, keep going and keep trying.” For more on Sekai and her jour- ney, go to her recently launched website sekaiabeni.com.