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Akoshia Yoba's Story
Akoshia Yoba is the Director of Career and Technical Education (CTE) at Maya Angelou Public Charter School (MAPCS) where she manages the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism and Business Academy programs. Ms. Yoba believes that the opportunity for her to work at Maya Angelou PCS is aligned with her life purpose, saying, “I didn’t choose it, it chose me.” She truly loves engaging with young scholars, exposing them to the world, and watching their evolution over the high school years. She believes that the best feeling is watching a young person’s eyes light up in a moment of sudden insight or discovery. “Money cannot pay for the feeling this inspires!” In her four and a half years at Maya Angelou PCS, she has been able to design and implement CTE programs to meet the school community’s needs in creative ways. Her role also involves strategic planning and administrative work beyond just the Academies. In addition to serving on the DC Career and Technical Education State Planning and Advisory Committee, Yoba is responsible for collecting student performance data, preparing reports for governing authorities, supporting program fundraising efforts and managing existing grants to keep the CTE programs running. As of now, Yoba says “I am focused on effectively meeting student needs as our school communities adapt to COVID-19 inspired, virtual learning platforms.” Ms. Yoba attended Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and holds a Master’s Degree in Executive Leadership. Before working at MAPCS, she was a contributor to the Huffington Post, and enjoyed a fifteen-year track record of successfully delivering career and professional development seminars and training to clients. Some of them were held for the New York City's Board of Education, Washington, DC’s Hospitality High School and the Teaneck Community Charter School in New Jersey.
April News 2021
Maria Sharmin: When first I heard that DCPS schools were closing until April, I was very happy. Most of my classmates were excited and ready to have a fun spring break. Some weren't because their vacation plans have been canceled, but most of us were because we wouldn’t have to come to school for two weeks straight. After the first week, it was not what I expected. Being self-quarantined at home for spring break and longer has not been the best. Although I am protecting myself from the virus, I’ve also been very bored. Being home these days and not going out has been no fun. I’ve started distance learning for school and my schedule is a bit hectic. There are several assignments being emailed to me from five different classes and it is getting very stressful to keep up with them. Most of my zoom classes don’t adhere to schedules so our meetings vary every week. This is anxiety inducing because I am constantly adjusting my personal schedule to fit in the zoom calls and my assigned work. It's also hard to do group work at times because some of my peers don’t have access to internet or our school class schedules don’t align with each other. It was hard the first week getting used to distance learning but now in my third week, it’s getting easier. There are lots of downsides of distance learning, but one positive thing that I have gained from this experience is that I've improved on my time-management and organizational skills. I’ve been utilizing google calendar and my planner and it has significantly made me more productive. Most of the rest of my time is spent scrolling on social media seeing memes, jokes, and tik-toks related to the virus. Some are finding the whole thing a joke while others are taking this situation a more seriously. Some are even scared that the “world is ending.” I am pretty nervous about what’s happening around me and I actually kind of miss being at school. It’s terrible having to spend the last few months of my senior year being home and worried about the Coronavirus. I wanted to make the best out of my senior year especially since now that all my college applications are out of the way, but I can’t while stuck in the house. I will have to make the best of it from home. Maria's Story Diamond's Story Alexs' Story Judy's Story Diamond Hunter's Story Diamond Hunter graduated from Woodrow Wilson Senior High School and is one of the American Experience Foundation’s (AEF) 2018 scholarship recipients. She is currently a sophomore at Temple University and wants to obtain a Business Administration Degree in Finance. She plans to gain extensive work experience to fulfill her dream of becoming a Chief Financial Officer of a major hotel brand, and she desires to open her own international food and beverage chain of restaurants. Winning the AEF scholarship has impacted Diamond’s life in numerous ways. She is very thankful for the scholarship because it enabled her to pursue her education out of state by taking care of her room and board expenses. The AEF scholarship is allowing her to continue her education at the Fox School of Business, and ultimately guiding her to achieve her dreams. “Not only has the foundation provided me with scholarships in support of my education,” says Diamond, ‘but, I have made lifelong relationships that have stretched far beyond completing high school.” Diamond was first inspired to seek out mentors from her experience with AEF. She says her mentors go above and beyond to ensure that she is succeeding, they help her in college and are devoted to helping her secure internships that align with her career interests. According to Diamond, the AEF scholarship serves as motivation to continue to do her best. “Obtaining a degree is far more than a sign of accomplishment,” she says. “I plan to use my degree to improve my community; I plan to provide similar resources the foundation provides to more ambitious students like myself.” Alex Wilson's Story Alex Wilson is the Director of Wilson High School’s Hospitality and Tourism Academy. He has worked there for several years and to this day, he truly enjoys helping kids find their true passion and helping them achieve their career aspirations. Mr. Wilson has great experience working for a government agency and a corporate business, and he even worked with the Latin American Youth Center, which he truly loved. He feels like it was bound for him to have multiple careers. Mr. Wilson believes that “every little step you take in life will lead you to something bigger.” Working as an Academy Director at Wilson has been amazing for Mr. Wilson. It was very gratifying to him to see Wilson go from only one academy to now seven. A lot of what he does at Wilson leads to many changes for DCPS schools in general. He says that Wilson has several academies and strives to improve them, this inspires other DCPS schools to market themselves better. Mr. Wilson genuinely likes working with kids, different principals and the school’s advanced placement coordinator. The best part of his job is that every day is different and exciting. One of his roles as a director is to recruit kids to join clubs and academies. He has to go to every 9th-grade class to convince them to join, and he believes that every kid should make an effort to join a club or an academy because it can lead them toward finding a career goal, especially within the Hospitality and Tourism Academy. He says that it helps students with big personalities get the chance to experience valuable life experiences. After years of making a positive difference in the lives of so many students, Mr. Wilson plans on retiring next year, but his experience at Wilson and working with kids has truly been delightful. Judy Zheng - AOHT Student Story Judy Zheng is a member of the NAF Academy of Hospitality and Tourism at Woodrow Wilson High School. She's been in the Academy for three years and loves every moment of it. In my interview with her, Judy reflected back on her time at the academy. It all started in her sophomore year. Judy went to her guidance counselor asking for advice on her career goals. The counselor recommended the NAF Academy, which was a great program to get introduced to the hospitality industry and business administration. Once in the program, she had opportunities to expand her networking, communication and customer service skills. She’s helped run the concession stand for Wilson’s football and basketball games, she’s assisted the robotics team on their event and she even gave tours of the school to parents for Back To School Night. All of these community service opportunities allowed her to interact with people and learn about different customer service experiences. Judy has attended several college tours through the Academy, including James Madison University, George Mason University and even Delaware State University. The college tours that she attended her junior year were her most enjoyable and memorable experiences. She got a head start on her list of colleges she wanted to apply to her senior year. On the tour of George Mason University, she instantly knew that she wanted to apply there! Another memorable experience in the Academy was when she got the opportunity to intern at Hyatt Hotel. She was thrilled to be chosen. Interning there during the summer has helped her learn more about hotels and how they run, such as how the front desk operated and how different departments interact with one another. Her job was to manage guests’ accounts, prepare breakfast and help maintain the hotel. Now that Judy is in her senior year, she has really grown to love the business side of the hospitality industry. She said that the NAF Academy tremendously helped expose her to different career fields. From the day that her counselor suggested this program, she has learned so much! She is now confident in her college and career goals. The NAF Academy has made an influential impact on her chosen college and major. Judy thanks the NAF Academy for influencing her decision to attend George Mason University this fall and major in Business Administration.
Backyard Bound Field Trip
In January, AEF hosted 40 students from DC’s Academies of Hospitality and Tourism on a very special Backyard Bound field trip to experience how amazing our city is from the eyes of a tourist. They explored the historic and cultural attractions, including the Hirshhorn Museum, International Spy Museum, and visiting to top of the Washington Monument. They slept in style at the Marriott Marquis Washington, DC and received a behind the scenes tour of the hotel. Breona Meniefield and Tonio Newton are members of the NAF Academy of Hospitality and Tourism at Maya Angelou Public Charter School (MAPCS) and attended the field trip. Breona is a senior and Tonio is a sophomore. They both say that it was the best field trip they have attended. From Breona’s perspective, she discovered new facts about the city. She learned about notable historical people that have made an impact in the city. She liked having tour guides because they were very helpful, especially in understanding the information better. She even got to speak to them one-and-one for any questions or concerns. During their tour of the hotel, they spoke to different departments of the hotel, learning about Marriott’s founder and meeting everyone from managers to bellmen. Her favorite part of the field trip was making new friends from the three other Academies. She really enjoys meeting students from other schools through AEF field trips, saying, “There are so many people living in DC, but they don’t ever take the time to explore around or meet people from other parts of the city. There are a lot of opportunities that people should go out and seek.” This field trip opened her eyes to a newfound appreciation of DC and its history and culture. From Tonio’s perspective, he enjoyed the museum tours, but already knew many of the historical facts that were talked about. His favorite part of the field trip was the insider view of the business side of the city. He never experienced being in a luxury hotel until this field trip and said, “one day I want to become a founder of my own hotel.” The tour really inspired him even more to reach his career goal. He liked learning all the behind-the-scenes information about a hotel and meeting people from different departments. Tonio enjoys AEF field trips because he learns about the business world and it helps him set goals for the future.
Come spostarsi a Washington, DC?
Metrorail e Metrobus Washington, DC è dotata di uno dei sistemi di trasporto più sicuri, puliti ed efficienti al mondo. Metrorail e Metrobus costituiscono i modi più comodi per spostarsi a Washington, DC, grazie ai collegamenti offerti da Metrobus per luoghi non serviti da Metrorail. Il Walter E. Washington Convention Center ha persino una stazione Metro apposita servita dalla Linea Gialla e dalla Linea Verde e molti alberghi sono comodamente situati vicino alle stazioni Metro e ai percorsi degli autobus. Metrobus circola su centinaia di percorsi in tutta la città e l’area metropolitana di Washington, DC con più di 1400 autobus a gas naturale compresso o con sistema a trazione ibrida contribuendo al mantenimento di una Washington, DC più ecologica. Metro opera dalle 05:00 a mezzanotte nei giorni infrasettimanali e dalle 07:00 alle 03:00 nei fine settimana. I passeggeri potranno effettuare il pagamento utilizzando tessere-biglietto o acquistando una tessera SmarTrip®, che consente agli utenti di caricare un importo specifico sulla tessera per utilizzi ripetuti. Le tariffe sono più basse per chi utilizza SmarTrip® e le tessere possono essere utilizzate anche come pagamento per corse Metrobus e DC Circulator. Taxi, noleggi auto e parcheggio Il servizio taxi è esteso ed economico a Washington, DC. Infatti, Washington, DC possiede una delle più alte proporzioni taxi-cittadino nel Paese, con più di 6000 taxi al servizio della città. I taxi utilizzano un tassametro proprio come ogni altra città nel Paese. Tutti i taxi accettano inoltre pagamenti con carte di credito, di debito e in contanti. Potrete scaricare anche l’app DC Taxi Rider per il vostro iPhone o Android, che vi consente di scegliere tra taxi standard, grandi e accessibili da passeggeri su sedia a rotelle, visualizzare una stima della tariffa e dei tempi prima di prendere il taxi e di effettuare il pagamento sia attraverso l’app che all’interno del veicolo. Uber è un’altra valida opzione per spostarvi dove volete in tutta Washington, DC. Non dovrete far altro che registrarvi e scaricare l’app sul vostro telefono e potrete richiedere una corsa al tocco di un tasto. Niente contanti e la mancia è compresa nella tariffa della corsa. Le tipologie di vettura a disposizione sono numerose e potrete anche dividere la corsa. Anche il noleggio auto costituisce un’opzione. Tutte le più grandi società di noleggio hanno sedi in tutta Washington, DC e gran parte di esse hanno uffici all’interno degli aeroporti. Naturalmente ci sono visitatori che scelgono di guidare la loro auto. La maggioranza degli alberghi è dotata di aree di parcheggio all’interno delle strutture e i visitatori possono trovare comode strade per il parcheggio o garage con SpotHero. L’app per il parcheggio on-demand aiuta gli autisti a trovare parcheggio, confrontare tariffe scontate e prenotare un posto auto con tariffe scontate fino al 50% con comodi garage, parcheggi e parcheggiatori a Washington, DC. DC Circulator Il DC Circulator ottiene recensioni entusiastiche sia da residenti che da visitatori. L’autobus è incredibilmente conveniente (solo 1 USD per corsa) e circola lungo sei percorsi specifici, concepiti per una salita e una discesa facili in punti d’interesse in tutto il Distretto. Visitate quartieri come Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Georgetown, Woodley Park/Cleveland Park, U Street e Capitol Hill con il Circulator. L’autobus offre anche un percorso National Mall apposito per un accesso facile alla maestosa panoramica di monumenti e di memorial di Washington, DC. Orari disponibili per ciascun percorso con autobus ogni 10 minuti. A passeggio e in bici per Washington, DC Uno dei modi migliori per vivere Washington, DC è camminare. Gli ampi marciapiedi della città serpeggiano tra gli imponenti monumenti sul National Mall, musei dall’atmosfera intima, teatri di rilevanza mondiale e splendidi giardini tra i vari quartieri della città. Naturalmente gli amanti delle due ruote saranno felici di sapere che Capital Bikeshare ha oltre 350 stazionamenti tra Washington, DC, Virginia e Maryland. La sua flotta bici comprende più di 3000 biciclette e il sistema è semplice: basterà associarsi (le alternative di adesione vanno da un giorno - Day Key - a un anno) e l’accesso alle bici sarà consentito 24 ore al giorno. I primi 30 minuti di ogni viaggio sono gratuiti con un sistema di tariffazione per ogni mezz’ora extra.