Last Saturday, more than 100 students eager to score well on the ACT test braved cool temperatures and a drizzling rain to meet at the Carver Elementary School auditorium on Jefferson Street for a free workshop conducted by Dr. Kentrell Liddell.
The workshop was intended for students taking the college entrance exam for the first time and those who are nervous about taking the test, and it was the brainchild of Larissa Stamps and her husband David, “I came up with the idea and asked him and he said, let’s do it.”
Stamps said the workshop originated because her daughter, a junior at Gentry High, and some of her friends were passionate about achieving a high score on the ACT, but were troubled and wanted to understand more about the test. That’s when she got busy trying to put something together for the small group but found out more and more students were wanting access to information as well.
So that’s when she reached out to Liddell, who is one of her co-workers at Mid-Delta Home Health Systems. She knew Liddell had been conducting these type seminars for over 10 years, so she asked her to put on one for the students, “And she agreed, right off the bat, whole-heartedly yes, free of charge, blessed us tremendously,” she said.
Stamps said they immediately began the registration process in anticipation of about 80 students, but by the end of registration on Saturday morning more than 180 students had registered. Liddell said, “Eighty-five percent always show up to my workshops.”
Her goal is to alleviate the anxiety associated with taking the test. She said, “What happens is, the test being timed, poses a problem for a lot of students, it puts them under a lot of pressure.” Liddell said that in her ten years of facilitating the class she has seen students score well into the twenties and even one who scored a 30. She said the student told her afterwards, “You just made me feel so much more comfortable going into the test.”
Her success with that student is what motivates her to say, “So, lets do it with as many students as we possibly can.”
According to her, last June, she took the test again for the first time since the 12th grade and without prepping for it, scored a 31. “I like to see if it’s changed at all, and come to find out it has not, why? Because basic education is basic education, fractions don’t change, integers don’t change, reading comprehension does not change,” asserted Liddell.
Liddell said she was very excited about the workshop and to be looking at ACT concepts. “I believe that we have students in here that are going to go, do well and come back and be leaders in this city, leaders for the community and leaders for their families,” she said.
In the workshops, the first thing she does is introduce the ACT test to the students, then relay to them why it is so important and what they can do to prepare for it plus give them tips.
Saturday’s workshop attendees were first treated to a free breakfast and a few brief encouraging remarks from school board members, Edward Thomas and Emma Golden, Superintendent Miskia Davis and Mayor Steve Rosenthal before getting down to business. Parents, other district staff and community members were also on hand to support the event.
Stamps offered her thanks to all of the donors and volunteers, which included the consolidated PTO, the Gentry High athletic boosters, Coach Chico Potts, who made sure his entire team was present, Bernita Walker, Albert and Brenda Lynn and others.
She described her husband, Davis, and Shamethria Beaman, K-3 Curriculum Specialist, as her “Workshop angels.” Stamps stated, “I’m just happy, just happy that I could be able to give back.”
Liddell is a family medicine doctor trained at the University Medical Center and is currently vice-president of quality management at Mid-Delta Health Systems. Whenever her schedule permits, she conducts the seminars without the expectancy of a fee, “I don’t ask for anything, I don’t seek anything, I don’t want anything other than for our kids to succeed and we can do that,” she said. She asserts that if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem.
In high school, Liddell scored the highest in her region on the ACT and was named the ACT Star Student, which garnered her a full scholarship to school. “If I can make a 31, then these students can definitely score well into the 20’s and the 30’s and beyond.”
Afterwards, Liddell too expressed her sincere gratitude to the host of supporters, sponsors and volunteers and deemed the workshop a success because of their support. She especially mentioned the kindness and humbleness of Principal Willie Bolden, “I actually didn't even know he was in the room. I now understand that it was not his intention to stand out. He just appeared as any other student,” she added.
Liddell said, “Each of us can ask God, ‘What do you want me to do with what I have?’ All we need are OPEN EYES to see someone in need; OPEN HEARTS, because we care; OPEN HANDS, because we can do so much; and OPEN POSSESSIONS, because everything we have comes from God, and we are so blessed.”
