On Her Way to Dancing Fame, Daie Garrett `10 Meets Governor

Elginavia “Daie” Garrett `10 and Teacher John LePelley attended an ArtWorks event January 11 also attended by members of the Ohio State University Board and Faculty and Governor Ted Strickland. Mr. LePelley reported that Daie, whose corporate work placement is at St. Vincent Charity Hospital, was introduced to Governor Strickland as “the best dancer in the program” and the Governor spent most of his time engaged with students speaking directly with Daie.

ArtWorks is an arts-based summer job training program which helps student “apprentices” develop their skills while working with professional mentors. Daie’s experience this past summer helped confirm for her that she had the interest and the ability to pursue dance as a career. She is now applying to dance programs as she approaches her final semester at Saint Martin.

Please check Lion Bytes in the coming years for reports on productions starring Daie Garrett.

Two Saint Martin Seniors Accepted to Howard University

Carlos Johnson '10 and Shirley Jordan `10 were both recently accepted to Howard University. Carlos and Shirley are the first Saint Martin students to be accepted to this prestigious university, listed by U.S. News & World Report as a “tier 1” university.

Howard University is a historically black college founded in 1867 and its mission includes the development of “distinguished and compassionate graduates” who work alongside faculty to “quest for solutions to human and social problems in the United States and throughout the world.” Among many others, Howard counts the following among its notable alumni and alumnae: Congressman Elijah Cummings, authors Zora Neal Hurston and Toni Morrison, and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Saint Martin is approaching 100 colleges and universities that have offered admission to our students over the past three years. Over half of the Class of 2010 has received at least one letter of acceptance at this point as we work toward our annual goal of 100% college acceptance. Congratulations to Carlos, Shirley, and all the members of the Class of 2010!

Saint Martin’s “Media Bonanza”

We have been fortunate enough to receive some good free and cost-effective media coverage recently and hope this will enable us to tell the story of our students to more people. We were mentioned in a December 30 piece in The Plain Dealer touting Saint Martin as one of the “15 things to be thankful for if you’re from Cuyahoga County.” Rich Clark was also named one of Cleveland Magazine’s “Most Interesting People” in their January edition, in which a Saint Martin ad also appeared on page 23. Finally, we ran an ad which was generously supported by Crain’s Cleveland Business, to thank our corporate partners in Crain’s annual “Book of Lists” (the ad appeared on page 11).

Please help us capitalize on this recent attention by planning a visit to Saint Martin and bringing a guest or two along. The February 9 “Meet & Greet” would be one great opportunity for a visit, but we welcome guests any time. Please call Dan Gunther at 216.881.1689, ext. 320 to schedule a visit any time or click this link to RSVP for an upcoming Meet & Greet.