In a ceremony held on January 13th hosted by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation at the Colonial Williamsburg Lodge, the 30th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. ACT-SO Awards Reception honored the academic achievements of our area’s top African-American students. Included among the 36 students named as ACT-SO Olympians were two Williamsburg Christian Academy students. Congratulations to junior Nandi Davis, senior Dexter Radcliffe, and Sophomore Nyzaiah Hawkins for being selected to receive this honor.

Upper School Principal Beth Fletcher was in attendance at the ceremony to describe each student to the gathering of community leaders. Mrs. Fletcher shared the following with us regarding each award recipient:

Dexter Radcliffe

“Senior Dexter Radcliffe, Jr. has excelled at WCA academically and athletically. He has challenged himself by taking 10 AP courses along with many honors classes across all subject areas. Dexter is one of our Varsity Basketball captains and is currently the top scorer in the Metro Conference. While we respect his many successes, we treasure his contagious smile, big hugs, and kind heart! He enjoys tutoring students in math and spending time with his prayer buddy. He has been admitted to Penn State and Purdue for engineering and is waiting to hear from several other prominent universities before deciding where he will attend.”

Nandi Davis

“Nandi Davis is outstanding in every sense of the word. She works hard at her studies taking 6 AP and many honors courses already by her junior year. When playing volleyball or basketball, she models good sportsmanship and a positive attitude in every game. While we respect her many academic and athletic successes, as our high school chaplain we value her strength of character most of all. She exemplifies John 13:35, “By this, all men will know you are my disciples, you have love for one another.” Nandi encourages and builds up others while also acting to help anyone in need. One of many examples of this was seen on the mission trip to West Virginia when Nandi woke up extra early to make breakfast for everyone including the adults. Nandi’s cheerful heart and Christlike love bless us daily!”

Nyzaiah Hawkins

Nyzaiah is a student who works hard and excels academically. While he enjoys playing basketball and video games in his free time, his family and friends are what matter most. He is very close to his family including his grandfather whom he enjoys spending time with whenever he can. He has maintained friendships with several students from his former school while making new friends at WCA. Nyzaiah is described by his close friends as funny and a really good guy. Consistently, teachers and students talk about how kind, humble and easygoing he is. Nyzaiah lives Psalm 34:14 “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

Congratulations to Dexter, Nandi, and Nyzaiah for receiving this prestigious award.

The Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) is a major youth initiative of the NAACP designed to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students. The program’s success hinges on the dedication and commitment of community volunteers and business leaders who serve as mentors and coaches to promote academic and artistic excellence. For more information on the program, visit the York, James City County and Williamsburg Chapter of the NAACP.