A Poet in Our Midst

Nasir Young a 12^th grader at Chester High School has become a published poet. Nasir entered the Fall 2010 Creative Communication’s Poetry Contest and was selected as one of the high merits. I first met Nasir when he took the 10 grade Honors History Course. He was an excellent student. As one who has gotten a poem published at a young age, I was glad to hear the good news that he had achieved this honor. I asked his permission to put the posting on the blog and asked for a brief bio. I had intended on a brief summary but when I read his bio, I decided to keep his bio intact. 

Where there is a will…this is from Nasir

There is an old saying that goes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you strong.” Despite all of the negativity in my community, I am a proud student of Chester High School. With hard work and perseverance, I have excelled both academically and athletically, and I am very active with community service.

Throughout high school, it has been my personal goal to ensure that I maintain a high GPA. I have consistently been on the honor roll with a GPA of 3.77 but always striving to do better. Recently I have had the privilege of publishing a poem of mine, Unexpected Pregnancy”, in the Creative Communications Magazine. Creative Communications Magazine hosts an annual national poetry contest. 

While academics are extremely important to me, I have also done very well athletically and the self motivation and determination that have helped me excel in academics are the same qualities that I apply as an athlete. I am honored to currently hold the position as the captain of a three time State Championship medalist Track & Field team. Being a team captain has its challenges as I am responsible for the entire team, some of whom are my peers. But as a leader, I have to remember that I am held to the highest of standards and need to always serve as an example to my teammates. 

My Track & Field coach always says that “a team is only as strong as its weakest link”. While this saying can be specific to an athletic group, I think it also applies to our communities. I strongly believe that if a group of individuals are able to work together in a community, they can make a real difference. Each year, I participate in several community service activities in any capacity possible. The most important of them to me is The Martin Luther King, Jr. Clean-Up. During this project, I helped fix up one of many schools in the Chester-Upland School District. We as a community worked together to fix tiles, paint and put together new school supplies for this school. This was important to me because I see myself as an example of a student that can truly benefit from having the right resources to excel.

I have been accepted into Howard University to major in History with a minor in African American Studies. My goal is to become a professor of African-American Studies. I’ve been truly blessed with the right tools and the support system and I look forward to the next 4 years of my life because I know these tools and support system will be available to me. Self motivation, determination, leadership and time management are the qualities that have enabled me to excel in high school and I know they will guide me through college.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

I also believe in the saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you strong”. I am actually surprised to read he will be majoring in History. I was tough on that Honors class because I knew they could do the work. They produced great professional looking work. I pass a few of them in the hallways throughout the day. They have turned into well mannered respectful young people. I believe they have a bright future in front of them. Congratulations Nasir on the publication of your poem.