Does the name Leonard Galmon ring a bell? Probably not, but
he is definitely someone you should know. His mother had him at 13 years old,
his father was a murdered drug dealer, and to top it off he’s a product of one
of New Orleans worst schools. None of that matters because this 17 year old is
headed to Yale. Yes I said YALE! He was 26 out of the 5,500 applicants to win a
Ron Brown Scholarship. This scholarship provides extra money plus support to
keep promising future black leaders on track. Leonard had the highest ACT score
in either Cohen High or Cohen College Prep, scoring a 28 out of the maximum 36,
placing him in the 90th percentile. Starting off as a student at
Cohen High, Leonard soon transitioned to Cohen College Prep where he applied to
NOCCA’s half day art program during his senior year. Yale was not the only
school that Leonard applied to, the counselors at Cohen College Prep encouraged
him to apply to other schools like Wesleyan and Brown. Leonard has not only
excelled in academics, but also in art.
Leonard has not allowed the negative circumstances in his
life to overshadow or hold him back from achieving success in life. Leonard has
used art to help paint a new path for himself, which will help steer him to
that next chapter in life. Although we do not praise individuals like Leonard
enough, we have to realize that young teens like this are out there and deserve
the recognition. It also important that we help keep music and arts in the
schools and readily available to inner city youth. Many use music and art to
escape from life or as a means to express themselves. Let’s do all that we can
to save the music and arts programs so that students like Leonard Galmon can
continue to express themselves and exert black excellence.
Congratulations to Leonard Galmon!
Britt Daise
Urban Echelon Magazine and Blogspot
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