Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon honors Africa New Life founders with Distinguished Young Alumni Award for efforts at community improvement, child sponsorship and poverty relief in Rwanda, Africa. Their organization has also started several living centers, high-performing schools, and Rwanda's largest theological library and college.

Portland, Ore. (PRWEB) November 22, 2012

About Florence

Florence Buregeya graduated in 2003 with a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) in Family Ministry. She is the founder of New Life Family Center, as well as all ministries to women through Africa New Life. She hosts an annual women's conference at New Life Bible Church in Kigali which attracts approximately 2,000 attendees.

About Charles

Charles Buregeya graduated in 2002 with a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS) in Ministries Management. He is the lead Pastor of New Life Bible Church in Kigali, serving 1,000 people weekly. In addition to his role as President and Founder of Africa New Life, Charles is also the Co-Founder and Chairman of The Form of Born Again Churches in Rwanda (FOBACR). Established in 2004 and now recognized as one of about a dozen official religious organizations in Rwanda, FOBACR provides fellowship, moral accountability, evangelistic support, and political credibility for hundreds of emerging churches across the nation.

Sponsoring Children, Building Schools and Libraries

Having founded Africa New Life in 2001 with a small school serving 29 ponsored children, Charles and Florence have seen their ministry grow exponentially.

About the Award

The Distinguished Young Alumni award honors a younger alum who embodies Christian values in their work, and personal life. Each year Multnomah University grants this special award in order to encourage and recognize alumni in their efforts to advance in their occupation and relationship with Christ. Alumni are encouraged to nominate those whom they feel exemplify the values and qualities Multnomah University upholds.

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Founders of Largest Theological Library and College in Rwanda, Africa Honored by a US University

Eight Yale students from the United States five undergraduates and three recent alumni will be studying in Britain and Ireland next year as either Rhodes or Mitchell Scholars.

Seven of the students were awarded 2013 Rhodes Scholarships for study in Britain. This is not only a record number of Yale students chosen in one year, but Yale boasts the highest number of U.S. Rhodes Scholars for 2013.

In addition, a recent Yale graduate has received a George J. Mitchell Scholarship for study in Ireland.

Among the most prestigious awards for international study, Rhodes Scholarships were created in 1902 at the bequest of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. The award provides all expenses for two or three years of study at the University of Oxford in England to those students who best exemplify "academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness and leadership potential." Each year, 83 students from over 20 countries are selected to receive the award, The 32 students in the 2013 American Rhodes Class were chosen from a pool of 838 applicants.

Jennifer Bright (Davenport 13)

Bright is an ethics, politics, & economics major who plans to pursue a masters degree in public policy at Oxfords Blavatnik School. She is interested in the legal, medical, economic, and political aspects of urban public health policy and has held internships related to that field, including a Liman Summer Fellowship. She is editor-in-chief of the Yale Undergraduate Law Review and president of the Yale Urban Collective.

David Carel (Pierson 13)

Carel is an economics major who plans to earn an M.Phil. in comparative social policy at Oxford. Fluent in Zulu and Hebrew and a leading advocate on issues relating to AIDS, Carel performs in a West African dance troupe and teaches Rukdan Israeli dancing. He has done community work in South Africa, the country of his parents birth. At Yale Carel co-founded a technology start-up, and he plans on a career in development.

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7 Rhodes + 1 Mitchell = 8 prestigious scholarship winners from Yale

SANTA ANA The Nicholas Academic Centers celebrated record student achievement this weekend at their fourth annual Thanksgiving Dinner event for more than 300 Santa Ana high school students and their families.

Broadcom Co-Founder Henry T. Nicholas, III and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, hosted the event held Friday at Valley High. They both praised the "NAC Model"a nurturing educational "family" that combines personal tutoring, cultural enrichment and social and family support for under-served high school students.

Nicholas Academic Centers Co-Founders Judge Jack Mandel and Broadcom Co-Founder and former CEO Henry T. Nicholas, III, Ph.D., carve a turkey at the Centers 4th Annual Thanksgiving Dinner Celebration.

NICHOLAS ACADEMIC CENTERS COURTESY PHOTO

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"The NACs succeed where others fail because we create a support system that includes students, staff, parents and high school counselors," said Dr. Nicholas, who established the first center in 2008 with retired Superior Court Judge Jack Mandel. "It's a model that works. One hundred percent of our students go on to college, and we're going to ensure that every one of them earns a degree."

Currently, 231 NAC alumni are attending top colleges around the country, such as Notre Dame, Georgetown, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Smith College. Half of the students from the first NAC class are set to graduate from college this year and 87% will graduate within five years. Among Hispanic students nationally, only 13 percent finish college, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

NAC students have earned more than $3 million in scholarships and financial aid.

"The Nicholas Academic Centers are profoundly changing education," Pulido said. "At Broadcom, Dr. Nicholas used brilliance and drive as a pioneer in the technology industry. Now, in collaboration with Judge Mandel, he has created an inner-city program that rivals the achievements of the nation's best private schools."

In a statement, Thelma Melndez de Santa Ana, Ph.D., Superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District, voiced her support for the NACs:

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Nicholas Academic Centers celebrate milestones at Thanksgiving dinner

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The Nicholas Academic Centers (NACs) celebrated record student achievement last weekend at their fourth annual Thanksgiving Dinner event for more than 300 inner-city high school students and their families. Broadcom (BRCM) Co-Founder and former CEO Henry T. Nicholas, III, Ph.D. and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido praised the NAC Modela nurturing educational family that combines personal tutoring, cultural enrichment and social and family support for underserved high school students.

The NACs succeed where others fail because we create a support system that includes students, staff, parents and high school counselors, said Dr. Nicholas, who established the first center in 2008 with retired Superior Court Judge Jack Mandel. Its a model that works. One hundred percent of our students go on to college, and were going to ensure that every one of them earns a degree.

Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-47) sent a statement of support from Washington, D.C. to the gathering at Valley High School and will speak to NAC students at a special event in Santa Ana on Dec. 10. "Education is thefoundation of opportunity and the basis of our country's future economic success, Sanchez said. The Nicholas Academic Centers produce dramatic results and provide a successful model for school districts around the country to follow."

Last summer, a former NAC student who attends Georgetown University interned in Sanchezs Washington, D.C. office, and in May the congresswoman honored a NAC student at the Capitol who had placed first in a national competition ("Cooking Up Change").

Currently, 231 NAC alumni are attending top collegesaround the country, such as Notre Dame, Georgetown, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Smith College. Half of the students from the first NAC class are set to graduate from college this year and 87% will graduate within five years. Among Hispanic students nationally, only 13% finish college, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES).

NAC students have earned more than $3 million in scholarships and financial aid.

The Nicholas Academic Centers are profoundly changing education, said Mayor Pulido at the event Friday. At Broadcom, Dr. Nicholas used brilliance and drive as a pioneer in the technology industry. Now, in collaboration with Judge Mandel, he has created an inner-city program that rivals the achievements of the nation's best private schools."

In a statement, Thelma Melndez de Santa Ana, Ph.D., Superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District, voiced her support for the NACs:

"We are fortunate to have many innovative partnerships in our district, and none more important than our work with the Nicholas Academic Centers," the Superintendent said. "The Centers have a profound impact on our students and demonstrate how we can work together to prepare all of our students to be college and career ready, and to assume their roles as part of the global citizenry.

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Nicholas Academic Centers Celebrate Record Successes at Fourth Annual Thanksgiving Dinner For Inner-City Students

LITTLE ROCK Christopher C. Mercer, one of the first black students at the University of Arkansas' School of Law, died Tuesday, according to a release from the school. He was 88.

Mercer was a 1955 graduate of the school, passing the bar exam with the highest score in his group. He was one of a group of black students known as the "Six Pioneers" who integrated the school.

Mercer also served as an aide to Daisy Bates during the 1957 desegregation of Little Rock Central High School and drove the nine students involved to and from the school every day for the first semester.

Mercer practiced law for 58 years and was honored with the Silas Hunt Legacy Award in April of this year. He was also the first black deputy state prosecutor in the South.

Jane and I are saddened by the news of C.C. Mercers death, said U of A Chancellor G. David Gearhart. We had known him for many, many years and always had the utmost respect for him. He was an outstanding leader and advocate, a great Arkansan and a much loved member of the Razorback community. He will long be remembered and celebrated as one of our most influential alumni. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to his family and salute C.C. for his life of service to others.

Read more in tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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Christopher Mercer, civil rights activist, dies at 88

TWENTY years after his death, the legacy of Dr. Peter Jepson-Young has endured with the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation.

Born and raised on the North Shore, Jepson-Young was a gay Vancouver physician who was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 1986, shortly after graduating from UBC medical school.

After living with the disease for four years, Jepson-Young attempted to stem the tide of misinformation and to correct stereotypes related to HIV/AIDS by appearing on the CBC-TV show, the Dr. Peter Diaries.

"It was huge for him to go on TV," recalled his mother, Shirley Young while speaking to the North Shore News in 2010. "Here he was losing his vision, he didn't even have his guide dog yet, and he was going to go on television and say 'Hello, my name is Peter. I'm a doctor, I'm gay and I have AIDS.'

"We thought for sure he'd become the victim of a gay bashing."

Jepson-Young appeared on 111 episodes until his death in 1992 at the age of 35.

The shows were eventually turned into the documentary The Broadcast Tapes of Dr. Peter, which was nominated for a 1994 Academy Award for best documentary feature.

Five years after Jepson-Young's death, the foundation he spearheaded opened the Dr. Peter Centre in Vancouver's West End.

The centre currently helps 400 people suffering from HIV/AIDS who also face extreme poverty, mental illness, addiction, and homelessness by providing day therapy and residency programs.

In 2010, Jepson-Young was posthumously awarded the UBC Medical Alumni Asssociation's Silver Anniversary Award. Shirley Young accepted the award on his behalf.

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Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation turns 20