Aces Film Project 2019

American Promise Documentary

The ACES pillar film project was an eye-opening experience for me. The assignment challenged my groups ability to find our pillars through a film and connect it to our lives and daily observing.The ACES pillars include: positive social change, advocacy, community, and service. Not only did we analyze the meaningful film, I personally was able to connect to it by hearing those same conversation I had with my mother  when attending Columbus City Preparatory School for Girls. The members of my group and I chose to watch “American Promise”. The film follow two African-American males by the name of Idris and Seun as they learn how to function in a prestigious predominantly white elementary and middle school by the name of Dalton. The film cover their lives for about 12 1/2 years showing issues inside and outside of the classroom.Both boys struggle to adjust to the workload, and function of the school. I just was diagnosed with ADHD, while Seun was diagnosed with dyslexia. They both grew up learning karate and playing basketball, but as time went by their interest changed, and their paths diverged. The documentary demonstrated our pillars in ways that were very relatable to my life. The film demonstrated positive social change by increasing the diversity at Dalton school. The schools population of minorities increased to 25% during the creation of this film. Advocacy was demonstrated by the documentary in the parents actions and how they went about solving problems their sons had. Both sets of parents provided school materials outside of school, they provided a homework helper, and increased their commitment to the success of their child. Community was demonstrated within the Dalton School for this film. The school was so small that it made it easier for people who went there to get to know each other well. Service was demonstrated within the film in a nontraditional way. The teachers work very close with Seun, who had dyslexia. This was seen as a sense of service because the teacher did not have to and she did not receive any benefits for the time, energy, or dedication that was put into making sure he understood as well as the other students. This film project was very interesting and fun to complete.

About Me

Ohio State University vs Purdue Fort Wayne

My name is RaNajha Maye, and I am a member of the Advocates for Community and Education Scholars (ACES) Program. I am a current Social Work major and participant of the 4+1 program.This program was designed to help social work majors obtain their Bachelors of Social Work (BSW) and Masters of Social Work (MSW) in only 5 years. My goal is to become a behavioral health social worker.

I was born and raised here in Columbus , Ohio not far from the main campus of the Ohio State University. I attended middle school at the Columbus City Preparatory School For Girls where I was apart of the first class to start in 6th grade and graduate from 8th grade since the school opened in 2010. This time was also the time in which I was inducted into the Young Scholars Program to spend the next six years acquiring the skills necessary to be a well rounded student at The Ohio State University.

For high school, I attended Fort Hayes, where I specialized in dance and instrumental music. During my time here, I was very active in my community along with participating in several extracurricular activities. I was a member of the FOCUS leadership group for all four years of high school within an organization called Community for New Direction. I was Student Delegate for my sophomore class where I bridged the gap between the sophomore class desires and administrative expectations. For National Honors Society, I held the secretary position, I coached Royal Dreams Dance Team, and enhanced my entrepreneurship.

At the Ohio State University, I plan to be involved in many clubs that can enhance the skills necessary to become an effective Social Worker. My hobbies include dancing, writing poetry, and exploring new places and ideas. I am extremely exited to finally be a Buckeye, and will remain grateful for the opportunities offered here.