{"id":6296,"date":"2014-06-11T14:45:08","date_gmt":"2014-06-11T18:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=6296"},"modified":"2014-06-11T14:45:08","modified_gmt":"2014-06-11T18:45:08","slug":"for-coatesvilles-ivy-leaguers-success-means-overcoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/?p=6296","title":{"rendered":"For Coatesville’s Ivy Leaguers, success means overcoming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three CASD seniors talk diversity, resilience, reputation, and representation<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"IMGP7055-600x338\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Kyle Carrozza<\/strong>,\u00a0Staff Writer, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

CALN \u2013 Entering its senior year, Coatesville\u2019s Class of 2014 saw the worst of this grand experiment known as diversity. School district leaders trusted to guide the area\u2019s youth to a brighter tomorrow reminded people that what we think of as outdated beliefs are still alive, ready to rear the ugly head of racism when the community isn\u2019t looking. Accusations flew, grown folks resorted to yelling and name-calling in public forums, and many of the questions raised remain unanswered nearly a year later.<\/p>\n

It would have been easy for Coatesville Area School District students to give up, to lose faith in the system meant to enrich them and lose faith in themselves. But instead, Joshua Mensah, Paul Draper, and Chasan Hall doubled down on their faith in the positive effects diversity in the community. As a result, they will receive their diplomas at tonight\u2019s graduation ceremonies and be Ivy League-bound in the fall.<\/p>\n

\"Joshua<\/a>

Joshua Mensah<\/p><\/div>\n

In an interview last week, the three seniors, who have been friends since their time at North Brandywine Middle School, said that while Huffington Post and CNN headlines depicted the negative side of living in a diverse community, the less sensational, everyday positivity that comes from getting a Coatesville education far outweighs the words of a few.<\/p>\n

As the senior class school board representative, Paul Draper saw firsthand the shouting matches and accusations tossed around at meetings every other Tuesday night. In response, he consistently spread word of the good things happening in the district. While he did recognize the negative effects that last year\u2019s events had on the district\u2019s reputation, the Princeton Tiger-to-be believes there were positives to be seen even during the ugliest times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough this whole process, we\u2019ve been fortunate enough to see just how strong our educational system is. No matter how much bad a person can do, it seems like they\u2019re not going to be able to damage that,\u201d said Draper.<\/p>\n

Joshua Mensah, who will be attending Cornell next year, and Chasan Hall, going to Yale, said that almost nothing had changed in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the general consensus was our superintendent was a jerk; we already kind of knew that,\u201d said Hall.<\/p>\n

In fact, all three agreed that the school district will take more positives than negatives from last year\u2019s events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat regime change made a lot more people get involved, not only get involved with the community but come up with new ideas to make the school more functional,\u201d said Mensah.<\/p>\n

Hall agreed, saying that citizens are now more vigilant in watching the actions of their leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis ultimately ends with more transparency and more community involvement. I think we can say that despite the obvious and unfortunate problems it has caused, it might ultimately have a positive impact,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Such a mentality should not be surprising from these young men should not be surprising, though. Living in a diverse community, much like getting into an Ivy League school can be difficult yet ultimately rewarding.<\/p>\n

Draper said that he struggled in school throughout his early childhood. However, his parents and teachers pushed him to do well even when he didn\u2019t quite fit on the football team and lost every match he wrestled in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey would just tell me that I was smart. At the time, they probably didn\u2019t actually know that, but luckily I was, and that gave me the motivation and really the confidence I needed to do well in the classroom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Eventually, he found the AFJROTC program and Bible Club, two activities that made him feel accepted.<\/p>\n

Mensah was told that there was little hope for him as a student during his elementary school years in Louisiana. But once he moved to Coatesville, he said that he found band, Boy Scouts, and a school setting at North Brandywine that caused him to ignore those who doubted him.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust by meeting people who were smart, made me go, \u2018Oh, I wonder if I can be smart,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mensah thought of one moment in particular that made him reflect on how Coatesville has allowed him to succeed. While on stage at the school\u2019s awards ceremony, he said that he thought about how his dad has not bothered to call him to congratulate him on graduating. But he took comfort in the support that those around him have given.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe awards ceremony yesterday kind of made me go, \u2018Whatever my dad didn\u2019t do, Coatesville did,\u2019 and that was a good moment in my life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/a>

Paul Draper<\/p><\/div>\n

Hall could not pick out a single moment that compelled him to be an exemplary student but instead said that his surroundings in the district have pushed him to do his best.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t really a moment. I think it was the way that the people around you can help foster an environment that helps you succeed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A large part of that environment is diversity. Diversity can mean people with different backgrounds, different opinions, and different interests.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very fortunate to have a place where no matter who you are or what you believe, you can put your idea out there, and it\u2019s\u2026treated with equal validity,\u201d said Draper.<\/p>\n

Hall also expressed his appreciation for having different kinds of people around him. In particular, he cited his political views that conflict with Draper.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think he\u2019s [Paul] wrong, but Paul has definitely challenged me and made me see other view points and made me consider the fact that other positions than my own have equal validity, and that\u2019s, I think, a very important thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The three said that one of their highlights of senior year was attending the Senator for a Day program in Harrisburg. While movies and TV shows may depict the \u2018popular\u2019 and \u2018smart\u2019 crowds as mutually exclusive, they said that their fellow Coatesville participants, two of whom were on homecoming court, argued with equal passion and helped to represent Coatesville well enough that students from other schools congratulated them after the event, even though it was not a competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunities here are special because not only can I associate with someone who is in a different club; I can be in multiple clubs and feel the love of multiple families,\u201d said Mensah.<\/p>\n

They said that another highlight of their senior year was competing in the county academic team competition. At 7pm on a school night, football players, basketball players, and cheerleaders came out to the Chester County Intermediate Unit to provide a strong support section for their less athletic but no less gifted counterparts.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than anything else, I feel like there\u2019s an overpowering sense of plurality here that this gives rise to and a lot fewer barriers that we erect between each other,\u201d said Hall.<\/p>\n

This sense of plurality stems from the sense of community that they proudly represent. Hall pointed to CASH Principal Robert Fisher as a high example of someone who represents the community. He said that when he first entered high school, he did not understand how an administrator could feel so strongly but now that he\u2019s about to graduate, he feels the same way.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we went through our years here and got to know him a little better, it became definitely apparent that that was really earnest and sincere. Really I don\u2019t know anyone who is more proud of his community than Mr. Fisher,\u201d said Hall.<\/p>\n

Draper agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time he hands out an award, every time he goes to an event, his eyes tear up because of how proud he is,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are certain people in the school that we are very fortunate to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

They believe that people like Fisher can help the district continue to grow even through hardship.<\/p>\n

\"Chasan<\/a>

Chasan Hall<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI do hope that this doesn\u2019t necessarily undermine our confidence in the Coatesville education system as a whole because there\u2019s definitely a lot of good going on here,\u201d said Hall.<\/p>\n

The three would like to see future students and the community take full advantage of these good things. They said that they would like to see the school district and community interact even more in the future. In addition, Draper advised young people to utilize school to follow their passions. Mensah said that given the chance, Coatesville will change students for the better.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that I am the person I am today, I can\u2019t spend time here being that person, which is kind of sad,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m finally this person, and I\u2019m about to leave you guys when I can show you how much you\u2019ve changed me.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Hall believes that the negative things said about the school district are mostly outside opinions. He wants younger students to focus on doing their best and not succumbing to what other people have to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve talked a lot in the last year\u2026about this reputation Coatesville has\u2014ignore it. Do what you can do, and don\u2019t let anybody tell you that this can\u2019t be done in Coatesville\u2026because I\u2019ll tell you what Coatesvillians do, they get into Ivy League schools.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three CASD seniors talk diversity, resilience, reputation, and representation By Kyle Carrozza,\u00a0Staff Writer, The Times CALN \u2013 Entering its senior year, Coatesville\u2019s Class of 2014 saw the worst of this grand experiment known as diversity. School district leaders trusted to guide the area\u2019s youth to a brighter tomorrow reminded people that what we think of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,7],"tags":[2514,3944,3945],"class_list":["post-6296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-coatesville-area-high-school","tag-graduation-2014","tag-ivy-league"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chescotimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}