Education Spotlight

Sterlin Lujan, Amanda Condon, Amanda Magness, Juvard Anthony, Felicia Horn
Sponsor

 

Amanda Condon

Amanda Condon
(Photo by Erin Rogers | TXK Today)Amanda Condon was forced to leave her home when domestic violence plagued her family. She was homeless, but resilient.  She now has her bachelor’s degree in Emergency Administration Management and hopes to obtain a Masters in Public Administration.

“I took the biggest risk of my life when I decided to enroll in college and not go back to work.  Creating Scholarship Hotspot Community is my most significant contribution to my community, and now the nation.”

Her mission is to empower students pursuing higher education.  She provides them with innovative solutions to achieve fulfilling, debt-free degrees.

Condon became the first Coca-Cola New Century Scholarship recipient from the University of Arkansas in Texarkana.  She was also recently able to travel to Washington, D.C. to meet Congressman John Ratcliffe and receive recognition for her dedication to acquiring and education and helping others as well.

In less than two years, the Scholarship Hotspot Community has managed to recruit 1700 student members nationwide and receive recognition from USA today and other publications.  Over 20 scholars have reported their success and acknowledge the contributions from Scholarship Hot Spot Community.  Condon’s next goal is to turn SHSC into a non-profit 501-c3 organization.

 

 

Amanda Magness

Amanda Magness
(Photo by Erin Rogers | TXK Today) 

Amanda Magness studied Education at TAMU-T and  is a Kindergarten teacher at Nash Elementary School in Nash, Texas.   She is married to Justin Magness and together they have their son, Oliver.  Having a positive experience in school at Redwater ISD imprinted a lifelong passion for children and education.

“I just had such a great experience growing up in school. It was intimate; my graduating class only had 60 people. Looking back, I am just reallky blessed that I just never had any bad experiences  in school that I can remember.  I think that growing up in a loving environment really left an impression.

Her goal didn’t come without obstacles to traverse. Magness took her generalist examination five times before she passed.

“I’m just not a good test taker; I could study, study, study and would still have difficulty.  You were supposed to pass with a 240 and I remember seeing ‘PASSED 240.’”

The same day she received her test scores, a job offer was made to replace a vacant teaching position at Nash Elementary School.  This year, she is particularly excited to commence the new school year with a fresh perspective.

“I’ve always been passionate about kids, but ever since I had Oliver, I have a different, more relatable view.”

Magness builds a relationship with her students, trying to reinforce trust and support for her class.

 

Felicia Horn

Felicia Horn
(Photo by Erin Rogers | TXK Today)

Felicia Horn is the Magnet Campus Coordinator at North Heights Entrepreneurial Leadership Academy (grades 7-8) in Texarkana, Arkansas. Mrs. Horn’s Bachelor’s degree in Education and History was completed from Texas A&M, Texarkana in 2004 and Arkansas State University is where she earned her Master’s in Educational Leadership in 2014 as well as completing her Professional Licensure for Administration in Arkansas.

Felicia is married to Jake Horn and together they have three children: Maddie, Jesse, and Kennedy Claire Horn.

Always a Razorback, Mrs. Horn has enjoyed all of her eight years in education at Texarkana Arkansas School District. She taught as an Advanced Placement History teacher at Arkansas High School for four years where she also enjoyed coaching the Redline Dance Team.

Moving into the field of instructional coaching, Mrs. Horn has served the past four years at North Heights Junior High leading many of the school’s systems including: aligning, implementing, managing a federal budget, monitoring the curriculum and instruction for all grades and subjects, training teachers and staff, managing the school’s 1-1 technology (one device for each student), leadership programs, and creating and monitoring the school advisory program (NHJH uses ‘The Leader In Me’ Program from Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People). ‘AT NHJH, our advisory program provides our middle school students a safe environment in which they develop meaningful relationships with their Advisory teacher and peers, and learn leadership concepts from The Leader In Me program that they use every day in life, even after middle school!’

Her greatest accomplishment is in leading North Heights to receive two national awards from the Magnet Schools of America “School of Distinction” Award.  ‘As a classroom teacher I was only able to make an influence on my 120 students I taught each day. Through my position at North Heights as an Instructional Facilitator, I am able to reach 600 students through my impact on our high-quality teachers and programs that our students prosper from.’

Juvard Anthony

Juvard Anthony
(Photo by Erin Rogers | TXK Today)

Juvard Anthony grew up in Texarkana and is the son of a recent Texarkana College graduate. Anthony graduated from Texas High School in 2009 then assisted with baseball at Texas High for 7 years.  His passion for baseball led him to the American Legion Baseball when he was 20 years old and he continues to contribute to community sports in Texarkana through the Texarkana Post 25 Tigers.

Anthony has a sincere passion for community outreach and said it makes him feel good about himself and helps him stay positive.

“I help teach 5th and 6th grade for Kidz Klub on Wednesday’s and feed the homeless through my church.“

He decided it was time to obtain a degree and pursue a career in coaching.  Anthony hopes to transfer to TAMU-T after receiving an associates in General Studies from Texarkana College.

“College is changing my life because I am making new friends.  I am participating in clubs such as Baptist Student Ministries and the Black Student Association.”

Anthony is returning to college because he wants to make a positive change in his life and make his family proud.  His perseverance and dedication provide an example to other young adults trying to balance school and their dreams.

“There are going to be some difficult challenges ahead, but you just have overcome them in a positive manner.  Have fun while you’re at college and stay focused on your books and grades. “

 

Sterlin Lujan

Sterlin Lujan
(Photo by Erin Rogers | TXK Today)

 

Sterlin Lujan is a full time writer for Bitcoin.com, member of Toastmasters, and graduate student at Texas A&M University-Texarkana.  Lujan has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and is currently working on his graduate degree in clinical mental health counseling.

 

His experience writing about Bitcoin, technology, and cryptocurrency garners him nationwide attention.  He speaks once a month at Joel Wright’s Art Gallery in Texarkana, Texas and has been a guest speaker at the Anarcapulco conference in Acapulco, Mexico,  Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, and is scheduled to speak at Nexus Earth conference in September.

 

“I love writing in the fintech space because I think Bitcoin will revolutionize the world. It is a decentralized currency that anyone anywhere in the world can pick up and start using without much technological background, and it is getting easier every day. The currency is better than fiat money issued by our government for many reasons. It cannot be manipulated by central banks. The currency also has built in protection mechanisms that prevent fraud. It’s an amazing piece of technology that people are just now starting to get excited about.  It is the money of the future”

 

Previous articleAmputee Victim of Hit and Run Back in ICU
Next articleMan gets more than 12 years for sale of dead man’s grenade, meth trafficking