September 14, 2016
Inspired
by Tennis
Greats
C ervante P oPe
t he P ortland o bserver
A young Portland student and tennis
player has won a national essay contest in
memory of the late black tennis greats Ar-
thur Ashe and Althea Gibson.
Ashley Factor, 11, a sixth grader at
Cesar Chavez School in north Portland,
earned a weekend trip to New York City
last month where she was bestowed the top
prize with nine other contestants as part of
an event sponsored by the National Junior
Tennis and Learning group and the U. S.
Tennis Association Foundation.
Factor is also a scholar athlete at Port-
land Tennis and Education. She dreams
of eventually attending the University of
Portland and becoming a professional ten-
nis player and artist.
The winning essays were from more
than 2,800 submissions. Each was re-
quired to write a 350 words or less essay
answering the question “How have our
skills in tennis impacted the development
of your character and how you address
your personal challenges on and off the
court?”
The contest was more focused on leg-
endary tennis player Althea Gibson and
how her strength and courage is inspiring.
Gibson was the first African American U.S.
Championships and Grand Slam winner.
by
Housing
Miracles
C ontinued froM P age 3
might not otherwise have the opportunity
to live affordably in the Lloyd District,” he
said.
Miracles Central has 47 units: 21 stu-
dios, 21 one-bedroom and 4 two-bedroom.
It is arranged in an L-shape plan, simulta-
neously providing a street presence along
both streets and privacy for residents be-
hind. The building shape allows all units to
take advantage of daylight, and individual
balconies provide outdoor living designed
for a sense personal space.
The courtyard is a private outdoor space
for residents to socialize. The large com-
munity room and other shared spaces cre-
ate interaction opportunities among resi-
dents and promote a sense of community.
Major contributors of Miracles Central
include the Portland Housing Bureau, Or-
egon Housing and Community Services,
JP Morgan Chase, The Multi-Cultural De-
velopment Group and the National Equity
Fund.
The architect was Carlton Hart Archi-
tecture and general contractor was LMC
Construction Co.
Page 5
Ashley Factor of
Cesar Chavez
School in north
Portland gives
her acceptance
speech at the Yale
Club in New York
City after winning
an essay contest
in honor of the
late black tennis
greats Arthur
Ashe and Althea
Gibson.