Brian Kelson: an Current Upstander

Kevin Way

Ms. Bluestein

May 22 08

2^nd Period

Brian Kelson as an Upstander

This essay will talk about Brian Kelson how he has successful himself as who he is. Brian Kelson was born in Louisiana and lived there in his entire life with his family. His parents graduated at Southern University and his grandparents graduated at Tuskegee and also his families are well-educated.

Brian graduated at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C in a Bachelor of Association Degree in four years. His biography about him as a great student but he is glad that he prove people wrong that he can do it and also had a good life long lasting. His family ensured well-educated gene, and they have a potential that they knew they can do it even they would rather to graduated with their good feeling like Brian Kelson does. After he graduated at Gallaudet, some kids or staffs asked him what will he do after college and he isn’t sure but thinking about to go to graduate school in Maryland or New York either but he moved to Texas for his job and settled there for few years then moved to California to work at CSD and still.

In past years, something must be terrible in Gallaudet University when Brian was young boy and the situation was problem are about elected as president for Gallaudet University. DPN stands for Deaf President Now, however there was no deaf president until elected new president so there was three finals president who will become a president, most of students hope that two of them was a high qualified and deaf. One woman was one of them but she is a hearing and low qualified but deaf students preferred have a deaf president to reputation for their university. Before Board of Trustee made an announcement who will be a president so they chosen woman, that’s how the deaf students protests and fought to have a deaf president and omit the woman. Brian felt it wasn’t fair, so he decide to help them and support that woman should be omit and that’s how he have became an upstander for others but himself. Later, Board of Trustee made an announcement that they chosen I King Jordan as their president lasting until he retired last year.

Brian felt the important person whom inspired him are his Aunt Pat and Uncle Richard for support him in hundred percent. Aunt Pat the one who will always be there for him even his uncle supported him to go to university for four years and him proud graduated in 2001. When he graduated, many people came to him and said congratulation which made him inspired when he got his diploma.

His six pillars are caring, respect, responsible and fairness. I felt that he does care for other even though he doesn’t like them but he’d help them to show them that he had a heart. He has a lot of respect to others so they will respect him back but himself. If something happened, he’d take a good responsible for it to show that he know what to do. Fairness is a key to him because he knew he’d along with others if only they are show fairness no matter what but if others aren’t and he’d do fairness.

In conclusion, this essay was based on Brian’s biography with his six pillars. He is now working at CSD. Brian still happy that he got his degree after he graduated at Gallaudet University.

Nelson Mandela: An Historical Upstander

Kevin Way

Ms.Bluestein

English 12

2^nd Period

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 191. His name wasn’t Nelson until later but his birth name was Rolihlahla with his traditional Xhosa name Rolihlahla. His father was royal Xhosa family, his business job had been succeeded and knowledge of law so that he can judge or against even though he did try his best. Of course, Mandela loved his father and was very proud of him with his great experience and the way of the people in the community looked up to him and his role model shows him that he had his best potential leader for them. His father had four wives with thirteen children; four boys and nine girls but understood they all aren’t live together under one roof, so all the mothers had to split and had their own property with their own children. Later, he was educated at University of College of Fort Hare and graduated in Witwatersrand to become into a law in 1942. After he graduated college, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) and involved with many issues that he does want to face with those problem to solve.

When Nelson gets older, his father was unable to defeat British authorities and he also no longer a chief, and his family became poor , even some mothers had to move some other place or return their household or their birth place. Nelson’s mother had three huts for cooking food, sleeping and one for storage. His childhood was fall in love connect with the animals when he himself a herd with those other boys. When he became at age nineteen, he make sure that he kept attend to school even though he already show his leadership in school to make people recognize him. Later, he enrolled in Clarkebury Boarding Institute, is one of the best for black youths to attend that institute in South Africa. His dream to graduate Hare Fort University and he did it.

When the happened in 1960’s something went array about Nelson for being in trouble whenever banned the ANC, Nelson had to stand up for himself and his group that he argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. The reason Mandela was arrested and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for his proposal with violent and felt threaten to ANC executive so decide to arrested him with hard labour. He is not only one who was arrested, and many fellows was arrested too who were involved with Mandela, even thought Mandela’s sentenced were longer than them. He went to the trail, and eight years of accused him so made a decision that he would be a life imprisonment, and he also went different prison place and last time he stayed at the prison place was at Pollsmoor Prison.

When Nelson was being in prison, his reputation was grew and realized that he was accepted as the most significant black leader in South Africa to reputation for their role model. So he refused to compromise his political position to obtain his freedom until he was released on February 11, 1990 after his release, it is time for him to work his butt off and to ensure that he works hard to attain the goals so he and others had set out almost four decades earlier.

His six pillars are fairness, caring, responsible and respect after his released from jail. So, first of all I just wanted to said that Mandel is fairness and think of others, wanted to improved his philosophy which means to ensure that African people are happy and good life that’s what Mandela’s wants. He knows he is caring for his country and the people, he had his own pride to be an African in his own country, however, once people protest or object so Mandela knows he will help them and faces with some difficult problem that he had to win for the people and his country. During year he is in prison, he accepted his responsible for his own action. But after he released, he had a lot of responsible because he became a president of the ANC in a year, and make a lot of success he have done to his country. Many people respected him with a good feeling so therefore Mandela has a lot of respect for his own country and people even though he received award for recognized him as a Noble Peace Prize.

In 1991, at the first national conference of the ANC in South Africa after was banned the ANC in 1960 so Mandela was elected to be president of the ANC while his lifelong friends, colleague and others had become an organization’s National Chairperson. He retired as president for the ANC in 1991 and returned his birth place in Transkei, South Africa. He isn’t in the heaven yet which mean he is still alive.