Whiz Kids: ROHS Students Focus on the Mission

Who: Sabrina Good and Connor Valone

Ages: Both are 17 years old and juniors at

Accomplishment: Sabrina Good and Connor Valone recently participated in Focus:HOPE’s Focus on the Mission program. The annual diversity and leadership program incorporates the art of photography and challenges high school students from around Metro Detroit to address the role of multiculturalism in society and their own lives, according to the organization.

With the help of an army of passionate mentors, nearly 60 students got to know each other through the program’s creative activities, ice breakers and dialogue sessions as well as photography field trips around Detroit.

Students organizers and mentors met at Focus:HOPE in Detroit for full-day sessions on four Thursdays in April and May. Each student was given a point-and-shoot camera with black-and-white film to use. At the end of the program, each teen was asked to choose just one photo they had taken during the course of the program  and write something about it.

The students’ photos and words were introduced to family and friends in May at an exhibit in the Focus:HOPE building on Oakman Boulevard, where the exhibit will remain until August, when it moves to the Scarab Club in Detroit.

Keys to awesomeness: To be accepted into Focus on the Misson, each student had to be nominated by a teacher and apply to the program. Longtime Royal Oak high school teacher Ann Maudlin nominated Sabrina and Connor, who are students in her Acorn news magazine class.

"Connor was an ideal candidate for the Focus on the Mission program,” Maudlin said. “He's insightful, observant, independent, creative and able to capture subjects very naturally.  He's also passionate about all that Detroit has to offer, and conveys a genuine respect and appreciation for the city. His interactions with others are beyond his years. … He has the potential to be a unifying force wherever he goes."

Sabrina was another natural choice, Maudlin said. “Sabrina is the kind of student others naturally embrace. She's intelligent, friendly and very creative,” she said. “She flourishes in dynamic environments because she herself is a dynamic person.  She's fascinated by other people and the opportunity to meet and learn from students with highly different backgrounds is one she welcomes.  She demonstrates a level of candor that invites others to be a part of the dialogue, which is important whenever you're trying to build connections among people and move things forward."

Do you know our next Whiz Kid?

Royal Oak Patch seeks suggestions for individual children, youth groups, teens and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We'll select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or email the information to Beth.Valone@Patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

• Nominator's name and contact information
• Whiz Kid's name, age and school
• Whiz Kid's accomplishment
• Whiz Kid's key to awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)
• Whiz Kid photo(s)