By: Maria Allard | Roseville-Eastpointe Eastsider | Published January 22, 2025
ROSEVILLE — A group of Roseville Community Schools students were recognized at the district’s Jan. 6 school board meeting for their educational accomplishments
Roseville Middle School eighth grade student Lyric Jackson was recognized for supporting domestic violence survivors through her poetry as a member of the school’s Z Club.
Jackson wrote a piece called “Released from the Shadows” that was shared around the world during Zonta International’s 2024 “Zonta Says No to Violence” online summit. Zonta International, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, is a global organization that focuses on women’s rights, gender equality and ending gender-based violence. Cassandra Crittenden, who attended the board meeting, is the Z Club adviser in the district.
“We are in place to empower women and girls all over the world,” Crittenden said. “We do that by advocating and by doing service and teaching them about leadership.”
Jackson read her piece to the school board members. A Z Club also has been formed at Roseville High School.
School officials also took time to acknowledge eight Roseville High School students who received “Scholar of Distinction” academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Program. The program is designed to increase college access for students.
To be considered, district Deputy Superintendent David Rice said that students must have a GPA of 3.3 or higher and score in the top 10% on College Board assessments, including the PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10 or earn a score of 3 or higher on two or more Advanced Placement exams by the end of the 10th grade. The students also must attend school in a rural or small-town area, identify as Black, Indigenous, Hispanic or be a first-generation student.
The following students were named as recipients: Paige Armbrister, Elise Birr, Nathavia Cherisca, Daniel Duhaylonsod, Aniya Morgan, Dreshawn Noble, Daniel Sikora and Maurice Stallworth. Only Duhaylonsod and Noble were present at the meeting to receive their certificates from the board.
The board room also broke out in song during the evening when Duhaylonsod and his siblings Fred, a 2023 RHS graduate, and Leilani, an RHS junior, performed hula dance to the song “Aloha, O’ahu.” It was their way of saying “thank you” to the school board members for all they do for the district.
“We wanted to showcase a little bit of the culture that we brought with us from Hawaii,” Fred Duhaylonsod said. “The song is talking about things you might see, things that you could do, the animals that live there and also the people that are there.”
Also present were the Duhaylonsod siblings’ mom, Hui, and dad, Daren, a U.S. Army veteran. The Duhaylonsods have another daughter, Kanani, who was not at last week’s meeting.