Teens from Boys & Girls Club of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County attend Gordonstoun

By Zaina Adamu Two members of the Boys & Girls Club of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Phebe Fergeson, 15 and Wayland Mullins, Jr., 16 were given the opportunity most only imagine. The two students were awarded an all-expense paid trip to Gordonstoun International Summer School in Scotland. For six weeks, Fergeson and Mullins experienced a culture outside their own along with other gifted students from around the world. Compared to America, Scotland has different geological features, said Mullins. There is a lot of beautiful unoccupied land in Scotland. Ferguson is a sophomore at Meade High School in Anne Arundel County. She was recently selected as the 2009 Boys & Girls Club of Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Youth of the Year Award, for her excellence in school and extracurricular activities. Mullins, a junior at Lansdowne High School Academy for Advanced Professional Studies, is also a recipient of the 2009 Boys & Girls Club of Bywater Youth of the Year Award. His participaboasts alumni from the British Royal family. The school is surrounded by thousands of acres of green land and breath-taking mountainous views, but its best asset is its education. Graduates of Gordonstoun usually become presidents, CEOs, doctors and engineers. Mullins says the school taught him a common feature among all of the Earths population. They bought different people together internationally to let us know that even though we speak different languages, we all smile the same, he said. Its about that human interaction. Fergerson and Mullins not only realized new aspects of others; they discovered something within themselves. I think I surprised myself the most. I had plenty of challenges and I put so much effort into everything I did, said Fergeson. I learned that I should always have fun and live my life with no regrets, said Mullins. Mullins wants to become an engineer. He plans to go to Vanderbilt University or the University of Maryland. Ferguson has her eyes set on studying law. She wants to work for a government agency that focuses on homeland security.

Junior at Lansdowne High School Academy for Advanced Professional Studies in Baltimore Wayland Mullins Jr. and Sophomore at Meade High School in Anne Arundel County Phebe Fergeson at Gordonstoun International Summer School in Scotland. Courtesy Photo tion in the Keystone Club, a youth leadyou how to stay positive. ership program, motivated him to go far Dr. Kurt Hahn, a key figure in experibeyond what most expected of him. mental education, founded Gordonstoun The program helped me to go on this School in 1934. It quickly gained intertrip, Mullins said. The [club] teaches national recognition for its prestige, and

By Zaina Adamu

Fannie Lou Hamer Award Recipient: Victoria Bruce

Bruce is a recipient of the duPont-Columbia Award for excellence in broadcast journalism for her first film, The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt (HBO/Cinemax, 2003). She then directed and co-produced Held Hostage in Colombia, a documentary that would later be excerpted on CBS 60 Minutes II. The History Channel and Sundance Channel soon selected the film for national broadcast on their networks. Although she has no formal training, she credits her roll with the punches mentality for her successes. I was taught how to use a sound mixer the day I left for Colombia, she said. I learned on the flight, but thats pretty much my style. It is her latest film Pip & Zastrow: An American Friendship that is conjuring up noteworthy praise. The documentary explores the friendship of two men who beat the odds of negative societal influences despite their different racial backgrounds.

As a child, Victoria Bruce had a vivid outlook on her future. She wanted to be an author. She followed her dreams as a writer, but stumbled on her newfound love, which was the art of the film. Her craft in filmmaking has led her to be a recipient of the 2009 Fannie Lou Hamer Award. Bruce was born and raised in Orange County, California. She holds both a Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science degree in Geology at the University of California, Riverside. Her first book, No Apparent Danger, ironically unlocked her secret passion for making films. I ran into a woman who was running for president of Colombia, she said. My initial idea was to write a story on her, but a friend of mine convinced me to do a film on her life. She admits she had no prior knowledge or experience in the industry until she met
Positive stories about positive people!

Victoria Bruce Fannie Lou Hamer Award Recipient Courtesy Photo Karin Hayes, another 2009 Fannie Lou Hamer recipient, who helped her with the process of directing films.

During the five years that we spent researching, interviewing and filming Pip, Zastrow and others in the community, we realized that this story is much greater than we had originally thought, said Bruce. Its a story tremendously pertinent in our society today; one of two men of different race, whose indelible friendship helped them save a city from destruction. Aside from filmmaking, Bruce continues to show her scientific side. In 2005 she hosted the Discovery Channels documentary Pompeii: The Last Day in Italy. She was given the opportunity after producers noticed her in-depth knowledge in science and writing. She jokingly refers to her transition from science to film as Attention Deficit Disorder, but she appreciates having the culmination of both fields in her diverse portfolio. I love research. Its fun for me, she said.
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The Annapolis Times, October 9 - 15, 2009 (www.baltimoretimesonline.com)