ACT-SO is a major education initiative sponsored by the National organization at the local and national levels. It is a community based program that matches students with mentors who have professional and or life-learned experience in academic and fine arts.ACT-SO is a year-long community based collaboration that involves the mobilization of students who are committed to perfecting their gifts. The collaboration is depended on the expertise of professional and life learned adults to serve as mentors, coaches and competition judges in the 25 ACT- SO categories.
Our goal is to provide African American students with the knowledge, confidences, resources, and support they need to realize their full potential and to achieve their dreams.
- High school students of African descent (grades 9 – 12)
- Citizen or legal resident of the U.S.
- Amateurs in the categories of competition
*Students must compete in their local program to qualify for the national competition.
** Students must commit to participating in Pre-competition workshops include: preparing for competition, public speaking, writer’s workshop, vocal training, appropriate dress for competition, and interview skills.
ACT-SO, above all, is a learning experience, in which scholarships and prizes are awarded. Participants develop new skills and enhance their abilities with each ACT-SO pursuit.
Students receive gold, silver, and bronze medals along with a monetary stipend at the local level. At the national level, students receive gold, silver, and bronze medals as well as $1000 for 1st place, $750 for second place, and $500 for 3rd place for each category. Many other scholarships and prizes are awarded at the national level.
Biology/Microbiology
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Music Composition
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Dance
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Architecture
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Entreprenurship |
Chemistry/Biochemistry
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Original Essay |
Dramatics |
Drawing |
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| Computer Science |
Playwriting |
Music Instrumental Classical |
Filmmaking |
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Earth and Space |
Poetry |
Music Instrumental Contemporary |
Painting |
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Sciences |
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Music Vocal Classical |
Photography |
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Computer Science |
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Music Vocal Contemporary |
Sculpture |
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Engineering |
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Oratory |
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Mathematics |
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Medicine and Health |
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Physics |
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* Students may compete in up to 3 categories.
- : The science, art or profession of designing buildings or outdoor spaces.
- Biology : The science of life or of the origin, structure, reproduction, growth and development of living organisms collectively.
- Chemistry : The science that deals with the composition, structure and properties of chemical processes and phenomena of substance and the transformation that they undergo.
- Computer Science : The science that deals with the theoretical aspects of computers including storage and the transformation of data using computers.
- Mathematics : The science of numbers and their operations, interrelations, combinations, generalizations, and abstractions of spaced configurations and their structure.
- Physics/Electronics : A branch of physics that deals with the emission, behavior or effects (as in electron tubes and transistors) and with electronic devices.
- Physics/Energy : A branch of physics that deals with usable power (as heat or electricity) and the resources for producing such power.
- Physics/General : The science that deals with matter and energy and their interactions in the fields of mechanics, acoustics, optics, heat, electricity, magnetism, radiation, atomic structure and nuclear phenomena.
- Music Composition : The science or art of arranging music by ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination or in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity.
- Original Essay : A brief examination of a subject in prose usually expressing a personal view or interpretation of a subject or topic.
- Poetry : A composition, marked by language chosen for its sound, beauty and evocative power.
- Play Writing : A literary composition developed for the stage. Performing Arts.
- Dance : To perform a series of rhythmic and patterned bodily movements usually performed to music.
- Dramatics : The art of staging or acting plays
- Music Instrumental/Classical : The art of performing with a device used to produce music with tones of the late 18th and 19th centuries characterized by an emphasis on balance, clarity, and moderation.
- Music Instrumental/Contemporary : The art of performing with a device used to produce music with the tones of the present.
- Music Vocal/Classical : The art of performing with the human voice rhythmic tones or sounds of the late 18th and 19th centuries characterized by an emphasis on balance, clarity, and moderation.
- Music Vocal/Contemporary : The art of performing with the human voice rhythmic tones or sounds to produce music with the tones of the present.
- Oratory : The art of speaking in public eloquently and effectively. (This is not a dramatic presentation).
- Drawing : The art of representing forms and figures on a surface by means of lines.
- Filmmaking/Video : The art and process of making motion pictures.
- Painting : The art of laying on paints with a brush or a knife.
- Photography : The process, art and technique of taking images recorded by a camera and reproducing them on a photosensitive surface.
- Sculpture : The art of making three-dimensional figures or designs
- Entrepreneurship : Refers to owning, organizing, and managing your own business by providing a necessary product or service.
The Des Moines Branch NAACP holds a local ACT-SO competition annually in April. The ACT-SO program planning committee is responsible for identifying eligible students, matching students with local mentors, supporting students and mentors through the preparations period, and implementing the local competition. Participants register for competition between October 1st and January 31st. Students meet with mentors and participate in pre-competition workshops between October and March. The following local companies and corporations support the local competition with both human resources and funding capital:
- NAACP Des Moines Branch
- Pioneer Hi-Bred
- Employee and Family Resources (EFR)
ACT-SO 2008 April 5, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location - TBD
For additional information:
: Mrs. Gretchen Woods,
: gretchenahw@peoplepc.com
- Gretchen Woods, Committee Chair
- Arnold Woods, Fundraising
- Steve Fields, Student Recruitment
- Mentor Recruitment
- Melinda Mullenix, Program
- Fawn Davidson, Program
- Joseph Jones, Workshop Facilitator
- Annis Austin-Woods, Judges
- Paula Lane, Judges Committee
- Mrs. Linda M. Carter-Lewis, Branch President
- Student participants
- Mentors
- Judges
- Financial Resources
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WHAT IS ACT- SO