Author: Kelly Brant

Joshua Nelson, a senior at St. Charles West High School, was one of five students to be awarded the Presidents Scholarship at Southeast Missouri State University, an award for which 288 people applied. The scholarship is valued at $43,000 and will pay for Nelson’s room and board for four years. While many students in his position would have saved the money that they had put aside for college to spend on themselves, Nelson had a different plan. The 18-year-old decided to donate the $1000 in his college fund to another student in need. With this money, Nelson created the Joshua Nelson Leaders in Action Scholarship, which aims “to help multicultural students who are showing leadership, community service and just have great qualities in and out of the classroom." "I feel like it's important to be involved in your community and leaving a legacy," Nelson said. Nelson hopes that his donation will pave a path for more donations from local businesses and others so that his new scholarship can help as many students as possible. "I think he's an inspiration to some of the other people at the school especially students of color," Harmony Hudson, a classmate of Nelson. "I don't even think he realizes that he's doing that much for everyone else as well." During his time in high school, Nelson was the president of his schools Multicultural Achievement Council, and was a member of various organizations like the National Honor Society, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Black Student Union. Nelson says that his dream is for the Joshua Nelson Leaders in Action Scholarship to be funded for years to come.  

Mike Wimmer from North Carolina has always been a curious and intelligent kid, and with the time he had during the pandemic, he decided that nothing could be better than getting his diploma from Concord Academy High School in the same year that he gets his associates degree from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. "With COVID, of course being locked in, I figured out, hey, might as well take some more classes, right? So I actually did four years of school in one," said the 12-year-old. "I just did it at a much faster pace. I did my junior and senior year of high school along with my first two years of college for my associate’s degree at the same time. Using dual enrollment classes at both places also. It was kind of a, hey, if I take a few more classes I can get an associate’s degree. Why not?" If doing four years of classes in just 12 months isn’t impressive enough, he will also be valedictorian of his high school with a 5.45 GPA, and will leave college with a 4.0. Despite being significantly younger than his classmates, Mike gets along well with the older kids, and was even elected to his Homecoming Court last year. Mike calls himself a “math and science guy,” and has been interested in robotics since he first received an iPad at the age of 18-months. He was inspired to create his own startup called Reflect Social which simplifies home smart technology with the goal of helping others. While he is academically ahead of almost everyone his age, Mike wants people to know that he is still a kid, and loves playing basketball and building Legos. "A lot of people think I've given up my childhood or somehow lost it," Wimmer said, "and I say to them that I'm having the time of my life."

Nathan Herber was diagnosed with stage four T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2018 at just four years old. He had to leave his school in Rochester, Minnesota to take part in aggressive cancer treatment at a nearby Mayo Clinic. Following nearly two and a half years of treatment, online school, and a period of time that left Nathan on life support, he is finally able to attend school again and see his classmates. Over 300 of Nathan’s peers welcomed him back, lining the school parking lot and waving to him on his final day of treatment. “I’m gonna be happy, because I might be able to see my friends from all the classes that I had last time,” said Nathan. Nathan’s mother, Becky Herber, said she hopes her son’s story can resonate with other children who are waiting to return to in-person classes. “Our hope for everybody returning to school this year is to never give up,” she said. “To know that this isn’t forever. That there will be an end, and things will be normal again.” Nathan was diagnosed just a few weeks after celebrating his fourth birthday at Disney World. "We thought things were pretty awesome ... you know, not a care in the world," Nathan's father, Andy Herber, told Fox News. The family found a large mass on Nathan’s chest and their life was turned upside down. The parents were told that this battle would be a “marathon, not a sprint.” "The oncologist said that his immune system won't be able to handle fighting off any of the infections, so we pulled him entirely from school," Andy Herber said. On the days Nathan Herber wasn't in school, his brother would place a stuffed monkey in his chair "to hold his spot," he added. Nathan took his last dose of chemotherapy on March 25 and is ecstatic to return to school full-time this fall.

John Hinkle Jr., of Peoria, Illinois, honored his late father, John Hinkle Sr., by bowling a perfect game using a ball that contained his father’s ashes. Hinkle Sr. was an avid bowler, but had never achieved the perfect score of 300. His son wanted to ensure that happened. "I was shaking. I had tears in my eyes the last couple balls," the 38-year-old said. "I just knew what it meant to my dad and my brother to do this." Hinkle Jr. dropped to the ground, overcome, as his twin brother embraced him during the emotional winning moment. "I started crying more when he approached me because we did what we said we would do," said Hinkle Jr. "Words can’t express how I was feeling. It’s still so surreal. I watch the video and still can’t believe it happened," Hinkle Jr. said in a message. Hinkle Jr. said his family has been bowling for a long time. "Bowling has been in our family for years and it’s something we all loved to do," he said. Their father passed in 2016, and their mother just two years prior. The brothers considered quitting bowling, but they wanted to continue to honor their parents’ legacy. Hinkle Jr. first mentioned putting his father’s ashes in a bowling ball in 2017, but it took over a year to find someone willing to do it. His childhood friend, who had just opened up a pro shop, agreed to do it. She sealed the ashes in the thumb hole on the first try. Hinkle Jr. is playing in the upcoming Tournament of Champions, the last tournament he played in with his father. He will retire the ball containing his father’s ashes after the tournament.

It was high tide at Santa Cruz’s Sunny Cove with waves reaching heights of six to eight feet. Zade Stone-Hinds, 17, was just getting ready to leave the beach when he spotted a man struggling to stay afloat. He did not hesitate, and immediately jumped in to save the stranger. “I’m not going to hesitate on something like that, that I feel so comfortable doing,” he said. He jumped in to rescue the man who later told Stone-Hinds that it was his first time ever being in the ocean. “I got him up on my board and let him breathe, just kind of relax and then some sets started coming,” Stone-Hinds said. Stone-Hinds initially secured the man onto his surfboard, but because of the treacherous waters, he lost his board and had to support the man on his own body. “There was a lot of water moving and it was high tide. A lot of backwash,” Stone-Hinds said. Stone-Hinds successfully rescued the man who, thankfully, only sustained a few minor injuries. Sean Rothwell, assistant harbor manager, said, “We’ve had plenty of calls over the years where our local surfing community will render aid, and we count on them quite a bit actually.” Witnesses to the rescue have shared kind words regarding Stone-Hinds. “He was amazing, he really was amazing,” said Kammy Ryckman. People are now pitching in to buy Stone-Hinds a new surfboard. “It’s a little overwhelming, but I’m glad people can see what you should do, just like I hope people know that when something is going on in public, they can act on it and not leave people hanging,” he said.

The journey from prison to the Chase Center began with a microphone behind bars for Aaron “Showtime” Taylor, who spent 26 years behind bars at San Quentin for armed robbery. "I feel like a kid. It's a dream come true," Taylor said as he sat at the Warriors Public Address Announcer's Table. "A lot of hard work behind it, but it's a dream come true." Taylor’s inspirational words moved the entire crowd. "I worked hard in 26 years to rehabilitate myself," Taylor said. "In the process of doing that, I just embraced the attitude that I could be more than what I was. Once I embraced the attitude that I could be more than what I was, then it was time for me to tell other people, you can be more than what you think you are.” Taylor first started this hobby by calling the prison yard basketball games. He was eventually given audio equipment to improve his calls. His talent caught the eye of the Warriors’ organization, and he was invited to be the guest announcer of a game just six months after being released on parole. "It's incredible," Warriors forward Draymond Green said. "To see him get his second chance... that was a dope moment for sure." Stephen Curry invited Taylor to join him for the postgame interview, and even gifted him the game ball. "The night before I was getting on the plane, I actually cried three times in the middle of the night," Taylor said. "It’s fun to be here, but I was understanding the weight of the pressure. Look I'm formerly incarcerated and I've been given this opportunity in 6 months. And that was weighing on me." He continued, "In the end right now, I'm still an ex-con on parole living in a transitional home. I just happened to have the best 3 days of my life right now, but when I catch a plane to go back home, I am going back to the transitional home because I still have a responsibility to the state. It's not a putdown to me. It's how I stay grounded."

Since then, she became the first person with down syndrome to earn a college athletic scholarship, and now has made history yet again, becoming the first golfer to play in a national college championship. Amy Bockerstette received a full ride to Phoenix’s Paradise Valley Community College in 2018, and now, as a 22-year-old, has just competed with her teammates at the NJCAA championships in Ormond Beach, Florida. "I like meeting new friends at the tournaments, I have fun," she said about why she loves the game. While this is her first time playing in the championship, Amy is used to performing under pressure on a big stage. https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1139925280108060672 In 2019, Bockerstette joined PGA pro Gary Woodland on the 16^th hole at TPC Scottsdale, a par three that is often called the “loudest hole in golf” because of its rowdy, stadium-like atmosphere. Despite the pressure and the noise, Bockerstette hit a beautiful up and down for a par, leaving Woodland speechless. The tear-jerking moment was shared to Twitter by the PGA Tour, and the video has now reached over 6 million views. I’ve been blessed to do lot of cool things on the golf course but that is by far the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced,” Woodland told reporters that day. “She was phenomenal…. I never rooted so hard for somebody on a golf course and it was an emotional, emotional really cool experience.” While golf is her passion, Bockersette loves to bowl, swim, and play sports like basketball, baseball, and soccer. During her barrier breaking golf career, she was given the chance to give a 20-minute keynote address at the National Down Syndrome Congress in 2019. “My superpower is confidence and believing in myself,” she said. “With your superpower, you can create your own purpose.”    

Unilever has partnered with Lanatech and India Glycols to produce a surfactant made from industrial carbon emissions. A surfactant is the ingredient necessary to create the cleaning action in laundry detergents. The three partners have produced a revolutionary supply chain that involves three stages. In the first stage, LanzaTech uses biotechnology to capture waste industrial emissions at its Beijing Shougang LanzaTech plant and converts these emissions to ethanol. In the second stage, India Glycols converts the ethanol into ethylene oxide, which is needed to make the surfactant. In the final stage, Unilever puts the surfactant in their new OMO laundry capsules, manufactured at its Hefei factory in China.  By not only recycling carbon, but renewing it as well, the use of fossil fuels can be mitigated greatly. To phase out the use of fossil carbon in consumer products by 2050, renewable carbon production needs to increase by a factor of 15x. This is the first step on that journey.  The three partners understand how important it is to protect the natural environment. In September 2020, Unilever launched a Clean Future pledge and is committed to eliminating fossil-fuel based chemicals from its cleaning and laundry product formulations by 2030. Further, the Unilever Home Care division hopes to achieve Net Zero emissions from all products by 2039. The President of this division, Peter ter Kulve stated, “Instead of valuable carbon being released directly into the atmosphere, we can capture it and recycle it in our products instead of using fossil fuels. New innovations like this help move our iconic cleaning brands away from fossil fuels without compromising on performance or affordability.” True to his word, the price of the cleaning product will not increase at all, despite this new supply chain. The CEO of LanzaTech, Jennifer Holmgren, added, “Our planet is running out of time and how we treat carbon requires urgent revision. By working with Unilever and IGL we can turn waste carbon into an opportunity, keeping fossil fuels in the ground and enabling new circular processes to make the products we use everyday.”  By switching to this new detergent, consumers can help clean the planet as they clean their clothes. Major corporations committing to helping the planet will help address the climate crisis and ensure a healthy environment for future generations 

The Halifax Humane Society, located in Daytona Beach, Florida got a special surprise on Saturday. The donor, known as “Doge Community,” had received a large payout from her cryptocurrency Dogecoin investment and decided to do something good with it. She paid for $1000 worth of adoption fees for dogs residing at the Halifax Humane Society. The shelter tweeted, “A generous donor, Doge Community has paid the adoption fees of all dogs in the adoption kennel at the time that were still available...Special thanks to Doge Community for their kindness and generosity.” All applicants still had to engage in the interview process in order to make sure that the animals were in good hands. As for the beneficiary herself, she did not adopt a dog. Rather, she is just a dog lover who wanted to use her financial luck to do something positive for the community. Her kindness had a snowballing effect, in the best way possible. Halifax had just rescued 42 dogs from a dog-fighting ring and were almost at total capacity. Paying for the fees allowed for dogs to be adopted quickly, creating more room for these new rescues. Further, According to the shelter’s Community Outreach Director Barry Kukes, “Many adopters that day were unaware that the adoption had already been paid but decided to pay it forward and gave the adoption fee as a donation as well...There are good people in Daytona Beach, FL and we are very grateful for the donation from Doge Community.”