which included Pittwire content<\/a>, helped her connect Wade\u2019s trailblazing leadership to her own dreams. \u201cIf she can become a principal,\u201d she said, \u201cthen I can become a veterinarian.\u201d<\/p>\nNot far from Wade\u2019s display stood sixth-grader Muhammad in a Buffalo Bills jersey, representing professional football player Damar Hamlin (A&S \u201920). Muhammad said he met Hamlin when the athlete made a recent visit Pittsburgh and gave the young student a brief interview. He enthusiastically recounted Hamlin\u2019s journey from Pittsburgh to the National Football League, including the athlete\u2019s on-field health emergency and recovery.<\/p>\n
Teacher Lisa Ross insisted students rely on traditional research methods rather than social media, preparation that gave Muhammad confidence to share Hamlin\u2019s story \u2014 and to imagine his own future in professional football. \u201cI know there\u2019s a risk in sports,\u201d he said, but it\u2019s possible for it to come true, echoing his hero\u2019s message to \u201cstay strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ross, a Pittsburgh native who teaches history, civics and geography, launched Night at the Museum last year to create what she calls \u201cliving history.\u201d Once assigned their figures in January, students spent the next few weeks searching for photographs, videos and written accounts to better understand the people they portrayed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted them to see and to hear these people, to know that they were and are alive,\u201d Ross said. If she were to choose a figure for herself, she added, it would be former first lady Michelle Obama. \u201cI love her story. I wanted students to see what they were capable of, what they could become.\u201d<\/p>\n
Established in 2001, TNA serves more than 200 middle- and high-school students through a holistic, barrier-removing educational model. The faith-based school reports that 100% of its graduates are accepted to college, and when they go, 81% finish within five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Neighborhood Academy\u2019s programming is designed to cultivate creativity as well as leadership,\u201d said Anthony Williams (EDUC \u201920G), TNA\u2019s head of school and a Pitt alumnus who was one of the heroes represented by the students.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur school\u2019s vibrant lifestyle offers students meaningful opportunities and for tonight,\u201d said Williams, \u201cthey\u2019re embodying the innovators and pioneers they had studied to help them grow academically, socially and personally. They\u2019re literally the next generation, standing ready to carry those stories forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A few desks away, sixth-grader Taylor (pictured above, right) portrayed Gertrude Wade (EDUC \u201944, \u201946G), who became the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116417,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-116416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh","8":"tag-pittsburgh","9":"tag-pittsburgh-headlines","10":"tag-pittsburgh-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}