Cesar Chavez Students are Subjects of Unique Photographic Poster Exhibit Unveiled...

Cesar Chavez Students are Subjects of Unique Photographic Poster Exhibit
Unveiled May 9

ROYAL OAK, Mich., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, May 9, 2008 Cesar
Chavez Academy High School in Southwest Detroit will unveil unique
motivational achievement posters at its 12th grade Pinning Ceremony. The
posters show character portraits of several of the School's high achieving
students using the power of photography.
Creator of the project, photographer Fred Ferris, came up with the idea to
donate his services to the school in a meaningful way that would touch young
people's lives. Ferris says, "I wanted to show my appreciation for being their
school photographer and at the same time use photography to convey a message.
All schools use posters as a way to model positive behavior. These achievement
posters are unique in their design and have a direct appeal to high school
students."
Instead of using look-alike student models to communicate a positive
message, Ferris used real Chavez high school students in real school settings
with biographies in their own words imprinted on the posters. Fifteen twelfth
grade students were photographed -- eight boys and seven girls. The students
are not superstars -- simply everyday students who have family, financial and
neighborhood issues, and yet they manage their lives to do well in school, in
sports, hold part-time jobs, give back to their community through
volunteering, serve as role models to their family and friends, and create a
real future for themselves. School Leader, Juan Martinez, is emphatic, "You've
got to see them to believe it. The posters are incredible character portraits
of our students," said Martinez. The posters recognize the students':
-- educational achievement
-- leadership
-- community service
-- character

Their GPAs range from 2.8 to 4.0. Nearly all are National Honor Society
students. Many have achieved honors in history, physics and pre-calculus. Many
hold neighborhood part-time jobs from 15 to 30 hours per week. All believe in
helping their community, which is why they volunteer at school, at church and
at community events. They all plan to attend college following graduation and
have earned collectively more than $97,000 in scholarships.
Cesar Chavez Academy High School is at 1761 Waterman St., Detroit. The
unveiling is on Friday May 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the gym.
The posters will be displayed throughout the high school for the remainder
of this school year and throughout the next school year when in the spring of
'09 the process will be repeated by selecting the high achievers from the
Class of 2009.
SOURCE Fred Ferris Associates, LLC

Fred Ferris, Photographer of Fred Ferris Associates, +1-248-288-0333; Tina
Calleja, Admin Assistant to Mr. Martinez of Cesar Chavez Academy High School,
+1-313-551-0611