Striking the Sparks to Ignite the Learning
After listening to the words of encouragement during the PACES Project sponsored
Pep Rally delivered PACES Scholar, Kemper County High School Class of 2012 and Meridian
Top 20 under 40 Business Professional selectee of 2018,Trent Steele; the KCHS Seniors
Class of 2022 enthusiastically took on this year’s PACES Teamwork Challenge.
The task confronting them: how well they could work with a randomly chosen leader from a group
of 10 classmates without talking, to assemble the nine letters held by the 9 other members
of each of their 10 person teams to form a phrase that most of them had heard many times
before at KCHS.
Each of the 9 members held only one letter. The letters that the 9 team
members held were “KISSACOPE”. Students jostled about silently in the gym stands as the KCHS
Band’s Drumline set the throbbing beat, and a music remix of Harold Melvin and
Bluenotes intertwined with rappers Missy Elliot, Wyclef Jean and Mary J. Blige loudly jammed
“Wake Up Everybody”, while delivering the message, Education is the key to a better
quality of life.
The letters held by each group were “KISSACOPE”. One team quickly and quietly shifted their bodies about while holding the letters to be reformed to read: “PACES IS OK”.
That was just the beginning of the members of Class 2022 joining forces to help the community and themselves. Over the next 3 weeks, members of their class begin the effort of performing a minimum of 4 hours of community service while maintaining their focus on the primary goals of doing well academically and conducting themselves as expected.
As of result of their endeavors 22 seniors became eligible to apply for membership in PACES, and will be able to go on the college campus and Business and Industry visits that PACES Project sponsors. The first campus visits were to the University of West Alabama and East Mississippi Community College on Nov. 3 Additionally, the PACES members potentially may be eligible to attend the end of the year Scholars Banquet held by PACES Project.
Kemper County Economic Development Authority’s, PACES Project, is a non-profit, all volunteer,
Community Service Organization that is in its 13th year of operation.