LOCAL PROGRAM GETS AWARD FROM NAACP

Carmelia Hudson wants to be a nurse, and the Cape Girardeau NAACP has a lot to do with that.

"I can't wait to get back to school," she said.

Hudson, a Central High School graduate, recently completed summer school at Lincoln University, where she will be a freshman this fall. She said she developed her career ambitions last August after attending the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Back-to-School/Stay-in-School program. It was there she attended a seminar led by Dr. Michelle Browne Barnum, a Sikeston physician whose speech influenced Hudson to apply her desire to help people into a career option.

"She inspired me so much and made me want to take a nursing class at the vo-tech school my senior year," said Hudson. "Now I'm a CNA. I like helping people, and hearing her inspired me to want to do this."

Juanita Spicer, NAACP education chairperson, said Hudson's story demonstrates the importance of the back-to-school program. When children attend programs where they can be exposed to people in different professions, they have an opportunity to develop or discover interests and set career goals, she said.

"We want our young people to learn how to help each other," said Spicer. "It's just wonderful to hear her saying that our program inspired her like that."

In addition to inspiring students like Hudson, the local NAACP's program also caught the attention of the national organization. Chapter president Michael Sterling accepted an award for the program during the organization's general conference last month.

The award, given for "unwavering commitment to the educational and social development of young people in Cape Girardeau," was one of only eight selected from more than 1,700 similar programs presented last fall. The local program will be used as a national model for the organization this year.

Sterling said the local program was extremely successful because of good financial support from the community and high attendance rates by parents and students. Some 225 students and 88 parents attended the overnight event, which was held at the Salvation Army.

"We've been told it was one of the largest gatherings of children in the history of this city," Sterling said. "It's also the first time our branch has received a national award."

Sterling said plans are under way for another Back-to-School/Stay-in-School program to be held this fall, but the event will be on a smaller scale than last year's program. More emphasis will be placed on developing other national programs into local events this year, and the back-to-school program will become a primary program every two years, he said.

Organizers said they will continue to emphasize the importance of the program despite its reduced size this year. More emphasis will be placed on community ownership of the event so that more children can be included, they said.

"This has really been a very special kind of honor for us," said Dr. Bernice Coar-Cobb, chapter vice-president. "We plan to reach out to other groups so we can continue helping kids."