FAMU hosting summer academy for gifted high school students

Today, FAMU is welcoming 24 gifted African-American male high school students from around the United States for the 2011 Distinguished Young Gentlemen of America, Inc. (DYG) National Summer Academy.

The two-week program will feature an innovative accelerated student curriculum focusing on the following topics: advanced African studies and communal values; financial literacy and entrepreneurship; foreign affairs and globalization; leadership and communication; and professional and personal development.

“I applaud and commend these determined and ambitious young men,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons. “It is imperative that we give them support and the necessary skills to be the leaders of tomorrow.”

Distinguished Young Gentlemen of America, Inc. is a national non-profit entity fully committed to addressing a myriad of multi-dimensional issues permeating throughout the world.

The incoming youths, all with grade point averages above a 3.0, will have the opportunity to develop and implement strategies to provide effective leadership on critical issues, learn tangible life skills (oratorical, culinary, mechanical, technical and etiquette) cultivate their entrepreneurial spirit, and broaden their intellectual capacities through reading and analyzing relevant essays, poems and books.

“These young African-American males understand that an education is an essential ingredient to succeed in life,” said William E. Hudson, Jr., interim vice president for the Office of Student Affairs. “This two-week program will provide some of those extra ingredients needed to be the next CEO, doctor, teacher, scientist, lawyer or entrepreneur.”