Young essay winner inspires Capitol crowd

Saint Paul, MN -- If you sit on the Capitol steps on a sunny day in May chances are you'll hear a few speeches.  Wednesday the politicians were talking about a sixth grader from Saint Paul honored and an essay that captured special honors in a statewide writing contest.

Shavaughnta Carter's essay took the form of  letter to President Obama, inviting him to Concordia Creative Learning Academy in Saint Paul. He read it to a crowd of lawmakers and other winners of the Minnesota Charter Public Schools contest.

"A lot of people said yes because you are black," Shavaughnta read, "A lot of people said no because you are black. I'm thinking you are a good person."

His mother Elissa Wright and his aunt Arthurlina Wright couldn't contain their tears, moved not so much by the words he wrote but by the odds he overcame to get to that microphone at the Capitol.

Last July 29th the family lost all their earthly belongings when their Saint Paul town home caught fire.  Shavaughnta had been homeless before so he kept his focus on the future. He kept up his school work, and helped his mother and younger sister through the rough transition.

"I want to keep up with football and basketball," the shy youngster told KARE, "But I want to have another career in case injuries or don't make it in sports."

He volunteered for food shelves and other charities last year, and got involved holding signs on bridges as a volunteer for the Obama campaign.  The youngster's letter contained special instructions for the President.

"If you come to my school all you have to do is go to the office an announce my name on the loud speaker. I will come down and congratulate you."

Both mother and son said his charter school had made a big difference in helping stabilize his life and make him optimistic.

"This is different from any other school," he said, "You can learn and have fun at the same time and everybody's friends."

The contest drew 1,100 entries from charter school students across Minnesota. Although there were other winners in all grade levels, organizers decided to highlight Shavaughnta's story because of his determination and hopeful outlook.

For Elissa Wright the day at the Capitol was an early Mother's Day present.  And she's never been prouder of her son.

"It's just been my pleasure to be his mom," she said, "I can't take credit for his greatness cause he's always been a great kid."

By John Croman, KARE 11 News

Check out our KARE family of Web sites:
	takeKARE		Metromix
	Moms Like Me		Minnesota Bound
	Showcase Minnesota