Kenneth Minton III, an eighth-grader at Pittsburgh Classical Academy and a third-year Summerbridge Pittsburgh student, was chosen as a Pennsylvania ambassador for the “Do the Write Thing Challenge,” an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence (NCSV). Minton will be attending Sewickley Academy as a freshman next school year.
The “Do the Write Thing Challenge” gives middle school students an opportunity to examine the impact of youth violence on their lives in classroom discussions and in written form by communicating what they think should be done to change our culture of violence. By encouraging students to make personal commitments to do something about the problem, the program ultimately seeks to empower them to break the cycles of violence in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.
Minton was honored among 100 middle schools students from Pittsburgh, Penn Hills, and Woodland Hills school districts on May 29, 2012, at Duquesne University for their writings about their personal experiences with violence and how they are taking on the challenge to end violence. He is also one of two students from his jurisdiction to be named a “national ambassador” and will travel to Washington, D.C., in July during National Recognition Week. National ambassadors have the opportunity to present their views on youth violence to national leaders such as the secretary of education, the secretary of the interior, the attorney general of the United States, the administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the members of Congress. In addition, their writings will be published and placed in the Library of Congress.
