Recently, three Guilford County middle school students attended a civil/human rights and environmental justice conference. Starr Massaquoi and Bryant Barringer are Jackson Middle students and members of the school’s Students Against Violence Everywhere chapter, which was named National Middle School Chapter of the Year for 2009. Kevin A. Williams II is an Aycock Middle student and a member of the 360 Life Beyond Aycock program.

The three students attended the conference with school social worker Keith Pemberton. While at the conference, the students engaged in panel discussions covering topics on immigration, racial profiling and environmental justice. Pemberton wanted to give the students the opportunity to attend the conference, because he says, “great students are not born; they are prepared.”

“I liked the part when the speakers told the students what they could do to help our community and how to help people encountering issues in their lives,” said Williams, who along with the others were the only middle school students to attend the conference.

Massaquoi also enjoyed her time at the conference. “It was an amazing experience,” she said. “My favorite part was the racial profiling discussion, because my father experienced it.”

The students are sharing the information they learned with their classmates and are writing letters to the High Point Human Relations Commission in support of students attending more conferences in the future.