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2022 Cardinal Ritter College Prep Gala President Speech

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where's the incredible and before they leave also want the Jazz Band to send and be acknowledged we thank you we have a young felonious Munk on the way to entertain the Saint Louis region so it is mine religion is President back to give her report to the community Tamiko is a native of Saint Louis and a proud graduate of Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School upon graduating she accepted a position Edward Jones where she spent 19 years in various leadership positions and she always found a way even then in the corporate world to give back help humanity and make a difference we used to have Maaco to come to speak to our interns in my office during black and women's History Month to talk about how you can have a career and how you can also be involved in the community and she did a fantastic yeah the student used to always ask for her every single year she was asked to lead her alma mater in June 2014 exactly twenty years after stating that she would one day be the president of Cardinal Ritter since taking the helm this is Armstead has made a significant impact on Cardinal Ritter spearheading a strategic planning process that is position Cardinal Ritter as the Premier African American Catholic College Prep High School Country Now preparing for a transformational growth in the future mrs. Armstead was recently named one of Washington University's emerging leaders and is a recipient of the YWCA women in leadership award and I am very proud to say that she is one of the urban League's salute to women in leadership recipients and she is deserving of every award and Commendation that we have available in St Louis president and L D'Amico start dating again I cannot believe it I'm so excited about this thanks again to the beautiful opening prayer by Our Gospel Choir going to school with them like listening to them as much as we do what a blessing it is Mike for those beautiful words I'm so humble by them I do always have to recognize my husband and today we also have two of our five signs you didn't know that we have five find our first born is here he hasn't been here since he was a student at Cardinal Ritter he's a class of 2016 and might I add a very good salesperson so he might hit you guys up a little bit later to and then our Freshman Class of 2025 is here Mister Johari Armstead so just really excited to have my my family with me and we've already knowledge Tire are beautiful faculty and staff who are here and of course our students I know seriously the students are the highlight of the night I mean just being able to talk to them. The highlight of my day everyday and his Excellency Archbishop I'll rozanski is here tonight and so we're just so honored to have him and all the members of the Archdiocese and all of you all our beloved a supporter egg donors who are here with us are we welcome you and we're very grateful for you I have to tell you all this I love my job it's not even a job it's the vocation it's a mission service is heart work like heart work and sometimes people will ask me is there anything that you don't like about it cuz I'm always so excited and there is this one thing it's whenever I say anything about the 1970s 80s or 90s to the students there's this loud audible gasp and these are the same kids who when they are green eyes throwback day right or back in the day day for old school day they're talking about the early 2000s that's the only thing so today I know I might be with a different audience won't gas when I throw some dates out somewhere to throw some dates out y'all so please don't go but I want to throw out a very important day and that's 1979 that was the day that a Cardinal Ritter opened its doors and something still found happens you all before that the Archdiocese said that before they open the door to a co-ed Catholic School in North St Louis they're going to answer one very important question and that's why it was what do black kids need I didn't want to so many different people they went to teachers they went to parents and with your grandparents they want to do they went to a priest thing with your preachers and went to white collar workers they want your sociologists they went to blue collar workers and they said we're not open up the door to the school until we answer that question so the answers to K from these groups with what do black kids need they said the same thing all kids need what does that mean high standards of excellence right face development leadership and more they said when they walk in the school they should see some images on the walls that are maybe a reflection of them like all kids when I go in the closet and I'll make sure able to look and see if there's images that are reflection of them when they open up those textbooks and read they should be able to read something about somebody toplesz something that look like we didn't she have a teacher one or two would leave that's a reflection of them because you can't be it if you can't see it, before they open up the doors they make sure I'm all of that West Ham place let me tell you about another date 1987 that was when I had that time I name was Tamiko Cunningham I was in the 8th grade and I had the best parents in the world you all Robert and Patricia gave me everything loving nurturing beautiful environment from Monday through Friday from 8 to 3 I was broken I was so broken because my school didn't get that memo my school didn't get that memo that it was important that someone like me should have an image on the wall that was a reflection of me my school didn't get that memo that you should be able to I should be able to open up the book and see happened just one thing that a black person had accomplished my school did not get that memo and you see everything about me what's wrong from the color of my skin to the texture of my hair to the music that I listen to to the clothes that I prefer even down to the way that I was shaped you a key and you go to school like that there are two choices you either going to assimilate and Shrink are you going to fight repeal anybody who knows me knows that I did the ladder no way y'all for anybody that have to go to school Kum & Go Narita opened its doors in 1979 and ask that question what do black kids need they were answering it for my eighth grade self in 1987 seen it for Bria and Sian and Ivy who I walked into the front office last week and I just stood there and looked at them and her hair braided Zion was wearing her laps and Ivy had her afro unapologetically able to be who they wanted to be and Cardinal Ritter College Prep did the question but  I answer the question what do black kids mean they answered that for our class of 2022 you all we have so many kids buy for valedictorian at class quarter grades are coming out I know somebody secretly praying that the other person gets a B+ they were answering that question y'all for our basketball team we had to go through the time schedule boys basketball team will have to go to the toughest schedule in Missouri to become District Champions never gave up because there's something inside how do you spell Sean that builds up your teeth girls basketball team didn't get the answer that they wanted I'm not going to give up a showed up at school with their heads held high today because a champion a lion never ever give up you haven't answered that question for our faculty and our staff take it to read Toni Morrison Bluest Eye a student get to read the letter from the Birmingham Jail that was written by dr. Martin Luther King High students get to read Things Fall Apart by chinua Achebe answering that question all the kids it's to a Cardinal Ritter College Prep they were answering that question for our freshman class that's / Empire that are studying the Songhai Empire through studying the Ghana Empire in the Mali Empire answering that question for them that are divided by tribes to send me kaise a man they called the Zulus and the Y to cease because you know that if those people who look like they can be to change their Community I'm so glad about this question y'all that was answered and asked in 1979 about what do black cat needs and all of those people who were born in years to make a current students gas I'm so glad that the question was answered for them I'm so glad that this could was answered for those classes between the current ones that we have class of 22 class of 23 class of 24 and class of 25 and 26 will I will tell you we already now have double the applicants than we did last year in fact we're almost tripling dog what were answering that question what black kids need and you know who else you are this question was being asked her for everybody in this room I don't think they knew in 1979 when they open up the doors to Cardinal Ritter that they were creating anchor Institution for st. Louis I don't think they knew what we know today when they ask that question in 1979 but they were creating an institution that was built to last they were creating an Institute kids are going to come and be loved on and adored and nurtured and made up to become the very best version of them self that's what they did when they ask that beautiful questions and 19 79 in the answer is for all of us who all has to be an anchor institutions you need to have some national results let me tell you about an hour's only 2% of black kids ever reports having a black man as a teacher 33% of Cardinal Ritter College Prep faculty and staff black man black man that's important it would have been important for my eighth grade so let me tell you about another since 1979 there has not been another school to open stead asked that question before the doors open 43 years later there's not another Cardinal to be an anchor institution you are one a poem I want to take a small children to the zoo last week and I got up early to get some of those Reserve tickets they can ran out I can go to another do when it's an anchor is 1 + 1 when that's done it's not another one there is no other Cardinal Ritter College Prep you all let me tell you about this beautiful National statistic that we are all so proud of black kids in St Louis will stay in college at a rate 27% of kids nationally will stay in college at a rate of 73% all kids black white asian doesn't matter what kind of socio-economic background you come from you going to stay in college at a rate of 82% for National at better than the national average so here we are this Mission continuing our teachers Every Single Day greeting our beautiful students and answering that question what do black kids need in their classroom in the hallways outside of school and we are here still standing we're still strong by feet planted firmly on the ground living this mission of academic Excellence development and Leadership and we're doing a schwa side-by-side with you we couldn't do this without you it's not possible it's not possible when I asked a question about what the kids need you know what else I hate you every last one of you thank you

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2022 Cardinal Ritter College Prep Gala President Speech

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