Linda Plummer Pat Price President ACT-SO Chair (actsomc@gmail.com) NAACP Montgomery County Maryland Branch JoAnn Burl,

ACT-SO Co-Chair (joannburl@yahoo.com) NAACP Montgomery County Maryland Branch

Immediate Release

ACT-SO of NAACP Montgomery County MD Is Victorious! The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People hosted its 39th Annual National Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympic (ACT-SO) Competition in Baltimore, Maryland. The theme for this year’s ACT-SO was “Victory in Everything” and Montgomery County’s ACT-SO students embraced victory! Eleven students were local gold medalists and seven students won medals, scholarship dollars and prizes at the national competition. Our National Medalists are: Gold, Nina Crosby Walton, Architecture, Walkersville HS, rising senior Gold, Kailande Cassamajor, Poetry Written, Wheaton HS, rising freshman Howard University Gold, Bilikisu Hanidu, Poetry Performance, Poolesville HS, rising junior Silver, Kailyn Richards, Vocal Classical, Northwood HS, rising freshman University of Nevada Las Vegas Silver, Caleb Clark, Medicine & Health, Homeschool, rising junior Bronze, Jamaal Bowman, Dance Contemporary, Northwood HS, rising freshman The University of the Arts Bronze, Kameron Brown, Dramatics, Northwest HS, rising freshman University of Southern California The other Local Medalists are: Caleb Clark, Chemistry, Homeschool, rising junior Beatrice Amoateng, Original Essay, Clarksburg HS, rising freshman Bowie State Kwasi Kyeremeh, Instrumental Classical, Quince Orchard HS, rising senior Jamielyn Quinto, Vocal Contemporary, John F Kennedy HS, rising senior Marie-yolande Fanouvi, Drawing & Painting, Albert Einstein HS, rising freshman Montgomery College This extremely high-spirited competition featured more than 600 students nationwide vying for scholarship dollars and prizes. The ACT-SO National program was held from July 20 to July 23 and students competed in STEM, Humanities, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, and Business in more than 30 categories. The co-hosts of the ACT-SO Awards Ceremony were Cornelius Smith and Simone Missick. Smith portrays Marcus Walker on Scandal and is an ACT-SO alum and winner of the ABC Discovers Digital Talent Competition. Missick depicts Misty Knight on Luke Cage. Richards once again was a lead vocalist in “Lift Every Voice and Sing” in the National ACT-SO Choir, and Quinto and Clark also participated in choir. Bowman’s dynamic dance talents were featured in the ACT-SO Awards Ceremony, and Crosby Walton and Cassamajor were featured dramatists. These amazing ACT-SO students represented the branch well as they competed with students across the country during the National ACT-SO Competition. # # #