NHS Members

Saybeh Bunnah, Class of 2024, Secretary 2021-2022

Savannah Watson, Class of 2024

Dante Sime, Class of 2023

やあ, my name is Dante Simé, I’m 17 years old and I’m a Junior. I am Haitian and Trinidadian, I was born 2004 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. Though most of my life I’ve been in Philly my Haitian New Yorker dad made sure to install anything and everything in me that was New York. I like to think of myself (though it’s childish in a way) as Miles Morales. A highly educated African American and Puerto Rican teen who has the mental and physical resilience to do school work at one of the highest educated schools. On top of being a hero. He is who I look up to be as a young man. (P.S any chance I get I’m in New York word to). My only focus till I’m out of school is academics. College and school in general is not an extracurricular. This is what life is about now. Most people who aren’t fully educated don’t get to have that “American dream Life”. It takes hard work and a lot of time but it will pay off. That is what I live by everyday and what I remember when I don’t feel like doing work. This school gave me a chance to be great by giving me my honor classes and college credit courses to achieve my life goals. Not only that but because I am an organized individual many of my teachers have helped me manage regular school work with JROTC to help me become a leader and how to remain attentive to my dreams. Most teenagers these days say things like “I don’t get paid to go to school but I have to do all this work”. In my opinion grades are your payment, not only because you can pass but the colleges and some workplaces you intend to go to need to see your work ethic so it’s crucial to your life. No matter how much hate I receive or experience all I need to remember is this one line. That line is to “Spread love, that’s the Brooklyn way”-Notorious B.I.G

Egypt Green, Class of 2023

My name is Egypt Green, I am 16 years old and a sophomore in high school. I am very creative and artsy and can be very passionate about anything I put my mind to. For example, my dream career is to be in law enforcement, so I have joined a program called The Philadelphia Police Explorers which is a program that helps teenagers in the pursuit of having a career in law enforcement. I wanted to join the program for a very long time and set up to accomplish the goal and work towards learning early on about the career I wish to go into. I love painting, drawing, and writing poems as well as playing music. I previously went to a music school and played a lot of classical pieces and some jazz on the trumpet. Even though that was what I mainly played I actually like playing pop songs from the 2000s. I am an only child with a sibling on the way and I have such a huge love for children, I could spend all day long with them. I express myself in lots of different ways through my artistic ways and my soft side when I’m around little kids. My little cousins are a prime example of how much I love kids since I am always showering them with love and affection and can never seem to get mad at anything they do. I feel as though I can always be myself in any setting and I am proud to say that I will give my all in to being a NHS member.

Jabrill David, Class of 2023

My name is Jabrill David, I’m in the 10th grade and this is my first year in the National Honors Society. I see myself as a honorable person. When I get knocked down, I get back up and go twice as hard. When I lose, I don’t see that as a time to be despondent, I see it as a time to learn from my mistakes. I am very optimistic and ambitious and even sometimes impulsive. I always give my 110% to everything I do. After high school I want to go to college out of state. Then, go into the military. I was raised by my grandmother. She is the reason I am the person I am today. She taught me right from wrong and also taught me all my manners. I like to give back to the community and others because my grandmother always told me “What goes around comes around” and you never know what someone is going through. You being nice to them could change their day. Especially something as little as a compliment or a “How is your day?”. Those things matter.

Tyrisha Peterson, Class of 2023

Hello, My name is Tyrisha Peterson, I grew up in a couple different places but mainly in North Philadelphia. I have had a lot of things happen and change in my life but I feel like those experiences made me stronger and also the future me. Being a member of the National Honor Society and PMA in general have changed me a lot before I came. I lacked a lot of control for myself and from attending I’ve learned how to become an effective leader. I believe the NHS can provide me with  kindness and care for others because before joining the group I always wanted to give back to my community but I didn’t know how to start and now I know some more resources and have already given something back to my community. I don’t want to be remembered for only one thing I’ve done, I will do many great things so it can be multiple.

Cristopher Espinal, Class of 2022

Being born on August 6, 2004, and raised in Philadelphia by two parents and a stepfather who have always told me that I would do great things have taught me to always respect other people, I can say with confidence that I am forever thankful for everything they have done. Thanks to them I have always been someone who looks to turn a negative problem into a positive solution. Although I may not feel this way at times my family and friends don’t forget to tell me about my creativity and my intelligence. I have had the pleasure of accomplishing many amazing achievements in my life and with teams of people that make those experiences all the better. Experiences such as winning the best in the state for the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, The many trophies, and competitions I have been to with the P.M.A. Drill Team, and just the many group projects and teams I have been on over the years.

And with the opportunity to work with tons of great people from many different projects and jobs, leadership has been an integral part of my life and what defines a team in general. The ability to come together as one, unity has  been a fascination of mine as a kid with seeing saturday morning cartoons of teams such as the X-Men, the Avengers and the Autobots who have had great leaders such as Professor X or Captain America and Optimus Prime who will always be there for the members of their team and treat their team like family, that- to me is what defines leadership. The ability to love and unite each other is a power unlike any other that I believe is the most beautiful form of appreciation and one that I make as my goal towards others.

Carlos Gonzalez, Class of 2022

My name is Carlos Gonzalez and I’m a student at PMA. Ever since I’ve started school here, my number one focus was to be academically determined. When I was in middle school my mom would always tell me to make sure I was doing good in school. If she wasn’t constantly telling me, I wouldn’t be so hard working now. I remember one time I wasn’t trying my best and my mom told me “you need to try your best so that you can get a good job in the future and be successful” and ever since then I’ve been determined to keep my grades up. I think that one of the other reasons I’m hard working is because when I was in 9th grade I was on the Raiders team. Raiders taught me that staying determined can help you achieve your overall goal. Other than my grades the only other focus that I’ve had was to make great friends. Without them, I’m sure that I wouldn’t be here now. They have helped me become a leader and staying focused on what’s important which has helped tremendously with my grades especially right now during virtual learning this is why my grades are important to me and a great reason why my academics come first.

Nelson Rios, Class of 2022

I’m Nelson Rios and I’m 17 years old. I was born December 25, 2003. Life is a board game no one’s life will be the same and with that being said I have accepted many challenges and obstacles in life that made me the person I am. I tried my best to involve myself in as much as possible. My freshman year here I dedicated myself to the drill team so I didn’t have much time on my hands. Drill team caught my eye and it wasn’t something I expected to be good at. I felt like I learned pretty quickly and I’m able to teach others. Despite all of this there came with some struggles in the drill team as well, not only with just one person but the entire team at times. The communication would cause a lot of problems as well as others thinking they don’t have to listen and just play around  while others begin to be serious and dedicated. Being a great leader helped me stay intact with myself and push forward to continue to help others to better their facial movements and more. My sophomore year I was still in drill and tried 2 different sports which were baseball and cross country. While I involved myself and dealing with what I dealt with at home I was still focused on my school work and keeping my grades up to join NHS. Here I am Today being welcomed to the team!!

Carmen Gonzalez, Class of 2022, Vice President 2021-2022

At The Philadelphia Military Academy, she has learned from and has overcome many obstacles that have shaped her into the cadet she is today. From being the Color Guard Commander, going to the JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge, helping during the candidate summer training, and so much more…she has dedicated herself to being the best at everything, to the highest of her abilities. Not only has she dedicated herself to extracurricular activities here at PMA, but she has also achieved Meritorious Honors academically, and is working hard day-by-day to maintain her grades. With this, I can say that Carmen Gonzalez is a leader.

Kiara Rodriguez-Gonzalez, Class of 2022

From a young age Kiara was always frightened by the idea of adjusting to a new school, but as time passed here at the Philadelphia Military Academy she has slowly but surely overcome that fear. She has learned that stepping out of your comfort zone can sometimes bring you a great sense of achievement. She has participated in the JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge, and has become a committed member of the Drill team. She has become a better person since coming here. In her first year here, she received the highest grade point average of 3.9 out of all ninth graders.

Keylisha Diaz, Class of 2022

As a child, Keylisha always dreamt of helping people. She was raised by a single mother, who she assisted in caring for her two younger siblings. When she started gaining weight at an early age, she learned that self-love is indispensable and that it’s not something we are born with….it takes time to love oneself. She has been an advocate, helper, and motivator for girls who have had trouble loving themselves and appreciating themselves. She believes that “Your dreams come true when you are true to yourself.”

Keylisha is an example of the “character” pillar.

John Ashcroft, Class of 2022

John Ashcroft was born on September 19th 2003. Over the next few years he joined the Boy Scouts, demonstrated his leadership, and became the senior Patrol Leader of his troop. He is currently working on “Eagle,” the highest rank in Boys Scouts. John has helped start the Philadelphia Military Academy robotics team and is working on becoming an engineer in the future.

Christopher Sarpong, Class of 2022, President 2021-2022

Last year was his first year in highschool. From the first JROTC class, he knew that this was something that he wanted to be involved in, which is why he has taken every opportunity that has been presented to him. He was able to go to Duckery Middle School and talk to them about PMA. Later, he was able to meet and talk to the senator, because of his own commitment to leadership. However, the most important detail of his trails to join National Honors Society is that he always took every opportunity to work on the four pillars of NHS: character, scholarship, leadership, and service.

Zaria Dennis, Class of 2022

Zaria Dennis is currently in her second year of attendance at Philadelphia Military Academy. She was raised by a single mother who was determined to provide and care for her family. This has made Zaria very determined when it comes to her education, which is exhibited by her participation in groups like Principals Club, Women of Tomorrow, scholarship programs, and being a part of Jlab. She attended Wissahickon Charter School, where she had the opportunity to meet people from different ethnic backgrounds, religions, and cultural diversity. This has contributed to  Zaria’s open-mindedness and has helped her to develop great leadership skills.

Maikah Hutton, Class of 2021

Maikah Victoria Hutton is 17 years old. She was raised by her two strict parents who instilled in her to always work hard for what you want, not what the world wants…to go after your dreams and push until you get there. She has always been a person that tries to overachieve, doing the best to reach the goals she sets for herself.  She is a very lovable, humorous, and kind hearted person who loves positivity and growth. Since being in high school, she has really learned the definition of what self-care and love is, and how to treat herself and others. She has become aware of the fact that everyone is watching you even if you aren’t looking. Some of the activities that have shaped the cadet and person that she is and developing into are: Drill team, JROTC Cadet Leadership Challenge, and Principal’s Club. These (and so many other) opportunities have and continue to contribute to her being the well rounded person that she is today, of which she is very proud.

 

Heidi

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