End-of-year awards were presented to students May 24 through June 3. The following students earned awards:
Science: Malachi Herring, Daniel O'Ryan, Knya Wilson, Trista Heidelburg, Leonie Ingabire, Candy Cruz Gordilla, Malaysha Brunner, Dynasty Guishard, Robert Bowyer, Christopher Gongora, Zion Grant, Franklin Carwell, Maurice Bevly, and Shamarke Ali (pictured).
Math: Bryant Lagos, Anthony Brady, Winston Eusebio, Tyler Dignan, I'yana Clark-Bosley, Kenneth Pullen, Malaysha Brunner, Taylor McMichael, Ta'Lysha Hines Pollard, Allyon Watters, Keara Chisolm, Ariyanna Kendall, Nakya Latham, Xavier Stirtmire, Jameka Wharton, Ta'Nia Sheffield, Trinity Perry, and D'Marje Nyamweya.
Social Studies: Adrian Jeffers, Sadia Matan, Terrance Pratt, Londale Towns, Michael Marc-Sainvil, Brandon Vargas Castro, Tyler Dignan, Brandon Bridges, Aniya Williams, Bethany Roundtree, and Majaila Lotts.
English: Tyler Hall, Ricky Johnson, Branijaia Prieto, Andre Davis, Iasiah Sherrell, I'yana Clark Bosley, Jaymison Sibert, De'Jour Miller, Neveah Walker, Londale Towns, Tiara Watkins, Andre Dickerson, Ahmed Matan, Jeremiah Grubbs, Makayla Reese, Herbert Robertson, Trinity Perry, Sharmarke Ali, and Keshawn Harris.
Spanish: Khaleel Abdur-Razzaque, Pritam Chhetri, Kenny Marc-Sainvill, Trinity Perry, Malakhi Armistead, Majaila Lotts, Deja Dean, George Hernandez-Moreno, Sharnee Thompson, Ta"Nia Sheffield, Ja'Myyah Miller, Alliyah Miller, and Michael Marc-Sainvil.
Physical Education: Janaya Walker, Daquan Weaver, Bryan Duran, Destiny Williams, Ke'Monte Dukes, Jaymison Sibert, Savior TrevonBrock, Taylor McMichael, Julian Perez, Christopher Cooper, and Irielle Givens.
Vocal Music: Faith Fleming, Ty'Janae McCarrel, Demetrius Johnson, Londale Towns, Dynasty Guishard, Haiden Jackson, Jayla Floyd, Lamyra Monk, Cara Allen Diggs, and Bethany Roundtree.
Art: Sarah Roberts, Ty'Janae McCarrel, Davoni Williams, Majaila Lotts, Fatuma Mohamud, Richeyshia Starnes, Kelvin Stroman, Candy Cruz Gordillo, Malaysha Brunner, and Andrew Milton.
STEM: John Estrada Albanez, Pritam Chhetri, Jaymison Sibert, Jabez Noble, Ta'Mya Powell, and Brianna Barron.
Attendance: Zhiyona Cosby, Jeremiah Grubbs, Paul Darby, Marshauna Bostic, Charles Jackson, Malaysha Brunner, Jeremiah Grubbs, LaTron Estes, Tristan Smith, Ta'nia Sheffield, and Shamarke Ali.
Positive Panther: Marcus Cookerly, Brithney Bonilla, Neveah Sheffield, Terrance Pratt, Mohamed Hassan, Candy Cruz Gordillo, Calvin Santos, Alaysha Brunner, Elsabeth Samuels, Jayla Floyd, Loyal Goldston, Darrion Dixon, Iyonna Stormer, and Alexus Johnson-Dorelien.
Persistent Panther: Sai Blankenship, Ty McMichael, Elijah Owusu, Isaiah Chislom, Kenneth Pullen, Sharee Peterson, Logan Smith, Joshua Smith, Aryanna Kendall, Jahleel West-Shaw, Ja-Myyah Miller, Sanii Shuemak, and Malachi Hardenber.
Newspaper: Khaleel Abdur-Razzaque, Davioni Williams, Ja-Myyah Miller, Austin Tudor, and Deja Dean.
Senior Capstone Standout Student: Rebecca Woart.
Prom 2021
The decorations were provided by A Moment to Remember Events and Rentals, catering was from Taste and See Sessions, dessert was provided by Pooh's Berries, and the photo booth was through Dynamic Entertainment. Photo booth pictures are available here.
Students danced to music provided by DJ Brian with Beat Squad Entertainment, chatted while eating a catered meal, and walked along the Scioto River with the view of downtown buildings in the background.
Staff members assisting during prom were Aisha Wilks, Tiffany Malone, Ashlee Hoffman, Dr. Freddie Jordan, Melody Bankhead, Sharlene Marshall, Devante Jackson, Dr. Michael McCrory, Brenten Johnson, and Principal Duane Bland. Staff member Carla Hegyi and students Kiara Culbreath and Melahni Ibokette helped fill gift bags before the event. Other students assisting were: Malaysha Brunner, Logan Smith, Kiera Harris, Harmony Matlock, Anthony Cookerly, Tre'Vez Gregory, and Tiara Watkins. Teachers Andrew Cullen and Kathy McQuate took photographs.
Because there was not a court established (purposely), there was no prom king or queen, which allowed all students to be royalty for the night.
Devante Jackson
By Tre'Vez Gregory
Devante Jackson is finishing his first year as a math teacher at Linden-McKinley. He attended LMSA for middle school and then transferred to Columbus Alternative High School. Jackson said, “I bleed Maroon and Gold (the old school colors)”. Jackson’s previous jobs were at CDF Freedom Schools as a Servant Leader Intern and Dayton Early College Academy, which is a public charter school.
When Jackson was a student, he was involved with marching band, cheer, dance, bowling, wrestling, ultimate frisbee, In The Know, chess club, and gay-straight alliance.
Jackson studied mathematics at Central State University. He decided to accept the position at LMSA because of the students and its history. Jackson said, “Linden-McKinley has bred so many great people and I would love to add to that.” He added, “Potential + Opportunity = Success. If you’re not reaching your goals, assess your potential and make sure it’s up to par. You’ll need a sense of self awareness before attempting to turn potential into kinetic.”
Jackson helps students achieve that success in and out of the classroom. He is also the cheer coach for Linden-McKinley STEM Academy.
Ashlee Hoffman
Ashlee Hoffman is a school counselor and test facilitator. Hoffman was placed at LMSA as the I Know I Can (IKIC) advisor six years ago. Three years ago, she made the switch to the district side as the school counselor. Before IKIC and counseling, she worked with Columbus Parks and Recreation Department at the Linden Recreation Center (now called Linden Community Center). Hoffman worked at summer track camps, issued leisure cards, and was a playground leader before she became a counselor. She was also a student mentor.
Hoffman loves to eat and try new foods, but she also loves sports. Hoffman has two black belts in taekwondo, and she ran track at Ohio State. She said, “I also played soccer, but just for fun because I was awful.” She also ran track in high school and still holds an Ohio record in the 4x100m relay with a time of 47.09.
Hoffman is a self-described nerd who has always loved school, but she said that her favorite subjects were anything science related. Hoffman graduated from Bishop Hartley High School, went to The Ohio State University for undergrad and earned her master's degree from Ohio University.
Hoffman wanted to work at LMSA because she already knew many families through working at the recreation center. So far, Hoffman said her experience has been great. She added that she gets to see generations of families come through the school and get to know them on a more personal level.
Hoffman loves being a Panther. She said, “I had a bad experience with my own counselor in high school and had to learn how to do the whole college-going process as a first generation student.” That experience led Hoffman to take the job at I Know I Can, and then to eventually become a school counselor.
Kevin Darthard Jr.
Kevin Darthard Jr. is in his third year as the head boys basketball coach at Linden-McKinley STEM Academy. Darthard is a teacher at Hamilton STEM Academy, a K-6 feeder school for LMSA, where he has been working for seven years. Darthard has also worked at the Linden Recreation Center for several years.
When asked to share a fun fact about himself, Darthard said, “I don’t like my food touching when I eat.”
Darthard attended Mifflin High School where his favorite sport was basketball. He attended Mt. St. Joseph University and played basketball for the lions. His love for basketball brought him to Linden-McKinley STEM Academy.
Darthard said, “I wanted to work with Linden students and athletes to help bring the basketball program back to where it was and to instill character, discipline, and hard work both on and off the court.” He continued, “I love youth and in particular inner-city youth is a passion of mine.” In the picture above, Darthard is seen volunteering at a Back-to-School-Bash at LMSA where he offered free haircuts to families.
Twitch is a Great Way to Make Money
Opinion Column
By Ozieion Brime
Streaming on Twitch is the best way for teen gamers to make money. I’ve been a Twitch streamer for two years. Twitch tv is a gaming live steam app that pays gamers who have 1,000+ followers and 4,000+ watch hours. It is similar to Youtube, but it just focuses on gaming.
I started developing a fan base by posting my gaming videos on my Instagram. Once I had about one hundred followers, I signed up for a Twitch account. When I first signed up, I only had one follower, and that was my godbrother, who encouraged me to join. For the first six months, I only had about 100 followers. Then, two weeks later, I streamed a “Call of Duty War Zone” game and that’s when I gained my 1000+ followers.
Once I hit that, I had to work on gaining followers to become monetized. I started streaming every single day to develop my fan base from playing “Call of Duty War Zone” and “GTA V” roleplay.
My first check was $300. I used my first five checks to upgrade my gaming setup. This past August, I received my highest check of $10,000. I spend about ten hours a day streaming, so it’s not like I’m not putting in work to get those checks.
My advice for anyone who wants to make money from gaming is that you have to put the work in, but you should limit yourself to a certain amount of hours per week so that it doesn’t affect your grades or social life.
Middle School Students' Success Celebrated with Field Day
Field Day for grades 7 and 8 was May 24 (A cohort) and May 27 (B cohort). Most of field day took place in stations on the football field. Assistant Principal Henry Lee and teachers organized a schedule that included t-shirt signing, tie-dying, bottle flip contests, rock/paper/scissors challenges, no hands kickball games, and pool noodle relays. Teacher Kayla Winn said, “Field Day was by far the best day of the school year! Students and teachers have worked so hard this school year, and it was wonderful to see everyone interacting and having fun!” The day of celebration ended with live music from DJ Krate Digga. Photo courtesy of Principal Henry Lee.
Runners Wanted for Cross Country; No Experience Necessary
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Contact Mrs. Scott-Moxley for more information: ascott9488@columbus.k12.oh.us
Panther Press is LMSA's Student-Run Newsletter
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Staff: K. Abdur-Razzaque, D. Armstrong, T. Battle-Gray, O. Brime, C. Brooks, C. Brown, K. Butts, D. Cooper, D. Dean, J. Franklin, T. Gregory, J. Holloway-Giles, H. Ledbetter, K. Love, J. Miller, X. Netter, J. Omar, K. Pullien, A. Scott, O. Simpson, A. Smith, S. Tucker, A. Tudor, J. Walker, A. Williams, Da. Williams, De. Williams, S. Womack. Adviser: K. McQuate
Email: kmcquate8783@columbus.k12.oh.us
Website: https://www.ccsoh.us/lmsa
Location: 1320 Duxberry Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43211
Phone: (614) 365-5583
Facebook: facebook.com/Linden-McKinley-STEM-Academy-Community-Area-106971227822438/
Twitter: @lindenSTEM