All results / Stories / Jo-Carolyn Goode

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Alpha Kappa Alpha Performs 29 Service Projects for International Conference in Houston

Wherever the ladies of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated go, one thing is for certain. Service will be rendered. Since 1928 when the first graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, Alpha Kappa Omega, was chartered, Houstonians have had a front row seat to the work of the first Greek-letter organization.

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Remembering A Giant Amongst Us: Faye B. Bryant

One of Houston's luminary figures in education and service to others has passed away at the age of 82.

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#CAP Dow Promise Virtual Summit Gives Students a Head Start On College Admissions

Dow knows how to keeps its promises. In 2000, they took their original promise and expanded it to make a broaden stance of their support to the community with an initiative called The Dow Promise Program. The annual competitive grant program allows organizations to obtain a grant up to $10,000 for use for a sustainable project with longevity in the community. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Alpha Kappa Omega Chapter was a proud recipient of a $5,000 grant that they used to host the #CAP Dow Promise Virtual Summit.

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Sisterhood & Service: AKAs Takeover Houston

Either directly or indirectly a lady of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated has had an effect on your life. Maybe she ensured your child could afford college by awarding them a scholarship. Or she helped to plant a garden in your community to answer the need of food deserts in the area. Perhaps you saw a group of them building a house for a deserving family. One might have encouraged you to join a letter-writing campaign to exercise your political voice for policy changes.

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Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated - Alpha Kappa Omega Chapter Kicks Off 90th Anniversary Celebration

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated have been caretakers of their community. In the Houston area, the members of the Alpha Kappa Omega Chapter have been addressing the needs and issues of their surrounding area for 90 years making lasting impacts that affect the lives of individuals and families. Now the ladies are celebrating the legacy of their sisterhood and their service to Houston with a four-month celebration of activities leading to the grand finale, the 90th Anniversary Gala on December 15th.

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Hundreds of Students Get Academic Enrichment at AKA ASCEND Summit

The Alpha Kappa Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA) and other Houston area AKA chapters in partnership with The Dow Chemical Company hosted hundreds of high school girls and boys at an ASCEND℠ Summit where students had the opportunity to receive academic enrichment and life skills training to support their journey to college or vocational employment.

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Incredible Things Are Happening In HISD

“I am proud to report that HISD continues to make academic progress district wide,” said a pleased Houston ISD Superintendent Richard A. Carranza as he bragged on the district that has been under his administration for the last 12 months. The Texas Education Agency (TEA), a branch of the state government responsible for overseeing public education, recently released their accountability ratings for school campuses for the 2016-2017 school year and Houston ISD scored well.

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Inner City Nutcracker Keeps Fine Arts Alive for Houston’s Kids

Having a vision for something that has never been done takes more than imagination. It takes passion and a can’t stop attitude. Imagination is needed so that even though no one that looks like you is doing the desire profession you can still see you, not someone that looks like you, but the actual you, not just doing it, but killing it like no other person regardless of sex or ethnicity. A passion that burns so deep and fierce that eating, sleeping, and breathing it is the bare minimum of what you do to succeed.

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Joya T. Hayes Takes Office As South Central Regional Director for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® has always been an organization that of times of crisis, the members respond by stepping up, serving, and continuing the business at hand. The global pandemic of COVID-19 might have delayed their efforts but did not stop them. Treading in uncharted waters, the sorority used its virtual platforms to hold the first virtual election where Joya T. Hayes was declared the South Central Regional Director and installed into office at the 69th international convention of the 112-year-old organization. Hayes now leads 10,000+ members in more than 120 undergraduate and graduate chapters in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Texas in the second largest region of the sorority.

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An Unbreakable Bond: Sheila Jackson Lee and Erica Lee Carter

Ask any child and most can list a number of reasons why they love their mother. No matter what the reason they all center on one word, love. That love is formed from a special bond between mother and child. Mothers and daughters share a very unique emotionally connection. With such a delicate connection, I wondered how that bond is tested when you have to share your mother and the unconditional love she gives with others in a major way. What I found is that the bond is just made stronger to the point that it is unbreakable.

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AKAs Takeover the Movies to Support Hidden Figures

It was wall-to-wall pink and green on Sunday, January 8, 2016, at the First Colony 24 theaters as the women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. took over the theater. The ladies were in mass numbers to support the film Hidden Figures that tells the story of three extraordinary women – Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson - who made NASA history by helping with the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. All three women are members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

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Texas Southern University Celebrates 95 Years of Excellence in Achievement

When people of color went out to discover more for themselves in the early 1920s, there weren’t a lot of open doors but closed ones. Opportunities were few, and there weren’t many individuals with extended hands to show them the way. However, a courageous few found opportunity tucked away in the heart of Third Ward at a place to be called Texas Southern University.

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Mental Health Is a Problem for All Not Just Some

Being imbalanced is a problem that everyone has had to deal with at some point in their life more than once and will have to deal with it again. Life is stressful and can cause anyone anxiety. Mental health surveys indicate that 60% of the American population has experienced significant levels of mental and/or emotional unwellness since the onset of the global pandemic. A 2020 Kaiser family study indicated that Texans have had an increase in their levels of anxiety and depression from an average of 37.7% before the pandemic to 40.1% during the pandemic. Difficulties are with individuals owning this as their reality as a threat to their mental health can be an even bigger problem than dealing with stress and anxiety itself.

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Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock Sworn in as METRO’s First Hispanic Woman Board Chair

Elizabeth Gonzalez Brock has made history as she takes the helm as the first Hispanic woman to serve as the Chair of METRO's Board of Directors. With a distinguished background in the energy sector, Brock brings a wealth of expertise and a passion for community advocacy to her new role.

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The Women Behind Minority Business Growth in Houston

Being in business for yourself is hard. It is always helpful to have a mentor and some assistance to navigate the path to get to your success story. Business owners in Houston are fortunate in that respect to have a plethora of resources at hand to assist in that department. Some of the main resources for minorities are in the form of our chambers. The Greater Houston Black Chamber (GHBC) and the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (HHCC) are avenues that entrepreneurs need to seek out to reach that pinnacle level of achievement.

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Coming Out of the Shadows of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking affects the most vulnerable among us. Potential victims could be the waitress who serves you at your favorite restaurant, the nurse who drew your blood at the doctor, or even your daughter’s friend on the cheerleading team. Traffickers exert such control and psychological manipulation that victims think they are nothing without their abuser. However, with the right help, victims can emerge from the shadows and reclaim their life and worth.

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Most Stylish Houstonians of 2019

Houstonians are known throughout the world for their generosity and how they help their fellow man in a disaster. Rarely seen are the philanthropic efforts of Houstonians who just see a need and provide a solution. Those that excel professionally while still giving back in extraordinary ways are who we call most stylish.

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Above the Water: How Black Businesses Swim in 2018

Simply being business is hard enough. Compound that with being Black-owned and a disaster like Hurricane Harvey and the definition of sinking or swimming takes on an entirely new meaning. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, many entrepreneurs had the difficult teeter-totter task of balancing the rebuild of their home life and business life. As a result, many businesses closed, especially those that were Black-owned. However, there were some that were able to float instead of sink. Courtney Johnson-Rose, current Greater Houston Black Chamber of Commerce (GHBCC) Board Chair, spoke with Houston Style Magazine to give insight on how those Black-owned businesses that survived stayed above the water in 2018 in celebration of Black History Month.

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Alpha Kappa Alpha Mentors Students to ASCEND to Greater Dimensions

Putting any person in a box limits their opportunities. They have no room to grow and flourish. There is no new path to travel. No new discoveries to be made or challenges to tackle. However, when someone comes along to remove one side of the box a whole new world opens. Mentors do that for children by exposing them to the world beyond their limited space for a better future.

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Houston ISD Board Blocks Lathan From Top Spot

No surprises were made by the way the Houston ISD School Board voted 6-3 to decline interim superintendent Dr. Grenita Lathan the permanent job to run the largest district in Texas.

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