I would love to thank my former teacher, advisor, coach and now friend, Mrs. Phyllis Graham Anderson from A. Philip Randolph Campus HS in New York City.
I entered Campus HS in 1985 as a shy freshman. On the third day of school, I somehow found myself going to track practice! I didn’t have the proper shoes, but the team spirit among the group was contagious. Ms. Anderson was an amazing coach and the women’s track team was notorious for the tight bond we shared as well as the record championships we won and they continue to win to this day.
As an advisor, Ms. Anderson helped me cultivate strong leadership skills that are essential to my life today. Under her advisement, I successfully ran for Student Government President and helped to institute great changes that both students and faculty/staff appreciated.
Today, almost 23 years later, I still remember the day she called me and another student, Erica to her office. Erica and I were extremely competitive with one another and we let it get in the way of our friendship. Ms. Anderson asked us to define “friendship” and then asked us to evaluate our friendship. We did some soul searching that afternoon, facilitated by Ms. Anderson, and I am proud to say that today, Erica is still my closet friend and we are fortunate to live 20 minutes away from each other in Georgia. Erica is my daughter’s God Mother, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. We were so blessed that Ms. Anderson saw the potential in our friendship and helped us overcome our challenges.
Though I don’t get to see Ms. Anderson as much as I would like to, her coaching, teaching, leadership and friendship has been priceless to me. I can always count on at least a monthly email from Ms. Anderson.
Thank you Ms. Anderson for recognizing my potential and helping me become the person I am today!
-Qualena Odom-Royes
A.Philip Randolph Campus HS, Class of 1989