[PHOTO STORY] Bears Living the Dream

Justin Diep, Editor in Chief
February 1, 2023

01-16-2023 MLK Contest by Justin Diep_0004
Justin Diep
Living the Dream, the Bears take home the Social Justice School of the Year award from the MLK Living a Dream Contest for the second year in a row. "They really stepped forward and bared their souls up there, and that alone takes nerves of steel," social studies teacher Nicolas Clawson said. "They represented Bryan well and carried the torch from last year. We plan to keep that torch lit and carry it for years to come."

The Bears took 11 students to the Holland Arts Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to compete in the MLK Living a Dream Contest hosted by the City of Omaha’s Human Rights and Relations Department.

Each year 7th-12th graders from around the Omaha metro compete against each other in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Living a Dream Contest. According to the City of Omaha’s Human Rights website, “The purpose of this competition is to encourage young people to adopt the principles of MLK Jr. and other social and human rights warriors and to encourage more original writing and other artistic compositions by students.”

Six students earned recognition for their individual performances as well as the schoolwide Social Justice School of the Year Award.

  • Chade Dol (9) – 3rd place – Poetry: Anti-Racism
  • Maizie Sayles (9) – 3rd place – Short Essay
  • Bernard (11) and Bernadine Ambatobe (9)  – 3rd place – Vocal Music
  • Lizzie Medrano (12) – 2nd place – Dance
  • Johnathan Mendoza (9) – Mayor’s Honor Roll Medallion

Each of the student’s performances can be watched here. A direct link to each performance is below.

  • Chade Dol (9) – Poetry: Anti-Racism (30.21)
  • Neveyah Zomahoun (9)  – Spoken Word (1:13)
  • Johnathan Mendoza (9)  – Short Essay (1:26)
  • Maizie Sayles (9)  – Short Essay (1:34)
  • Mi’Khel Thomas (11) – Spoken Word: Reaching our Potential (1:42)
  • Daphney Valadez (12)  – Short Essay (1:52)
  • Raquel Burton (12) / Stephanie Herrera (11)  – Vocal Music (2:05)
  • Bernard Ambatobe (11) / Bernadine Ambatobe (9) – Vocal Music (2:21)
  • Lizzie Medrano (12) – Dance (2:34)