THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 11, 1996 TAG: 9607100133
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 90 lines
Blessed with exceptional abilities in mathematics and science, Wakeelah Shabazz could reach for the stars.
Indeed, she wants to save the planet.
``I've always been conscious of how the status of the planet is slowly deteriorating because of misuse by humans,'' Wakeelah said. ``I'm interested in environmental pollution and want to make sure plants, animals and people aren't harmed by toxic chemicals.''
How? ``I could design different containers to hold chemicals so there won't be leakage into the soil. I could also design instruments to detect it, and once chemicals are detected, there would be cleanup efforts.''
Third in the 1996 graduating class of 285 at Nansemond River High School, Wakeelah was accepted by three universities. She will attend Pennsylvania State University, where she was awarded a four-year scholarship including tuition, room and board, books and fees. She plans to major in civil/environmental engineering.
``Of all the students I have known in my years of teaching in Suffolk Public Schools, Wakeelah is one of the most motivated and mature,'' said Gretchen Watson, an advanced placement chemistry teacher at Nansemond River. ``She is able to mathematically analyze with the skill of most college students. Her scientific aptitude and probing mind have heightened her research skills and have made her a superb scholar.''
Wakeelah also was selected by the Suffolk branch of the American Association of University Women for its fifth annual Equity in Education scholarship.
The $500 award is part of the association's efforts to promote gender equity in education. It seeks to encourage local female high school graduates interested in continuing their studies in the fields of math, science, technology or other nontraditional areas for women.
Wakeelah also was awarded two other scholarships: the Fred B. Cherry Educational Foundation Award for $1,000, and the Bernard Dodson Memorial Scholarship for $500 through Cooperating Hampton Roads Organizations for Minorities in Engineering.
Wakeelah is attending a six-week summer bridge program for freshmen engineering students at Penn State.
``The program is to give freshmen a head start,'' she said. ``I'll study calculus, chemistry and physics . . . and I can choose and sign-up for classes.''
For the past two summers, Wakeelah participated in the Summer High School Apprenticeship Program. In 1994, she worked for eight weeks with an aerospace engineer at NASA in Hampton.
``I spent the summer trying to decide on a new design on an anechoic wedge to be installed in jets to reduce the sound,'' she said. ``It's an ongoing project and I was only a small part of it.''
Last summer, Wakeelah participated in the residential SHARP Plus program and spent two months working with Dr. Reza Mirchams, a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La.
``I lived on the college campus and took trips to other states,'' she said. ``We visited the Lyndon B. Johnson and the Stennis space centers and toured the facilities. They wanted to expose us to all aspects of NASA.''
Wakeelah is the daughter of Waalee and Sylvia Shabazz of Kinsey Lane. Waalee Sabazz is an electrical technician at the Little Creek Amphibious Base. Sylvia Shabazz is the fiscal supervisor at the Children's Museum in Portsmouth.
Wakeelah's brothers, Shareef, 16, and Rasool, 15, are students at Nansemond River High.
Wakeelah credits her mother with her maturity and sense of independence.
``When I was 12 or 13, she gave me a lot of responsibility. She taught me to cook, prepare meals and take care of my brothers while she worked. She made sure I was self-sufficient and prepared for the world so I would be able to survive on my own.''
During her high school years, Wakeelah was active in the Beta Club, Future Business Leaders of America, Student Council Association, Superintendent's Student Advisory Council, and the Academic Challenge team.
She received the Virginia High School League Academic Excellence Award and was a member of The Virginian-Pilot's Scholastic Achievement Team. She also was a member of both the varsity volleyball team and track team.
Selected to be a Peanut Fest mascot, Wakeelah impersonated both ``Hootie the Owl'' and a kangeroo during the festival.
``It was a hot job, but I had fun,'' she said. ``I handed out peanuts at the gate, greeted kids and had my picture taken with them.''
Wakeelah is a choir member and serves on the Youth Usher Board at the New Mount Joy COGIC Church.
Her hobbies include making desserts, doing needlework and creating friendship bracelets by intertwining five colors of embroidery floss. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Wakeelah Shabazz was third in Nansemond River High's graduating
class of 1996. by CNB