Star Student: Joseph Excels In Class, Drama, Sports In Upper Marlboro

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — Star Students are found in classrooms, on concert and theater stages and at debate lecterns, and out in the community doing good things to make life better for all of us.

Here at Patch, we've launched an initiative to help recognize Star Students, and we’re working to tell the stories of these outstanding kids to their neighbors.

This submission comes from Tiffany McEwan who nominated Joseph of Upper Marlboro. Below is her nomination.

Star local student’s name

Joseph

Star local student’s home state

Maryland

How do you know the star local student?

Godson

Why do you believe the star local student should be recognized?

Joseph R. Harrison IV is a 14-year-old, 8th grade student at Annapolis Area Christian School. He resides in Prince George’s County with his parents Joseph and Nicole, and his younger brother Jiovanni. His favorite school subjects are Social Studies, Language Arts, and Spanish. He's involved in many extra-curricular activities in school such as Cross Country, Chorale, the Art Club and Theatre/Stage Crew. It was exciting to watch him be a part of AACS’s production of The Lion King! He's also played the alto-saxophone since 4th grade.

While he makes the time to participate in as many extra-curricular activities as he can, his primary focus is on his academic studies. Joseph has consistently earned AACS’s highest honor, Principal’s Honor Roll, every quarter since entering middle school (6th grade). Getting a good education has been instilled in him and he prides himself on maintaining a 4.0 GPA. On weekends, he participates in the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated's Mentor Program for Boys. The purpose of the mentor program is “to equip young black and brown males (grades 4 - 8) with the critical thinking skills needed to challenge social, cultural, and economic inequalities impacting black and brown students and their communities. The mentor program is designed to introduce students to culturally relevant topics (e.g., Social Justice Education, Police & Community Relations, Historically Black Colleges & Universities, STEM Education, Financial Literacy) using a critical lens to discuss their impact on students and communities of color.”

Joseph enjoys volunteering in his community. He's currently involved with Prince George's County's Office of Human Rights' Youth Leadership Academy for students who have a passion for civil and human rights. He's also a long-standing member of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated which is “a children’s organization that is guided under a general five-point programmatic thrust: Cultural Awareness, Educational Development, Health (education and advocacy), Civic (legislative advocacy and service) and Social/Recreational areas.”

He's participated in the STEM Summer Program at Howard University where he learned a lot of advanced math skills and completed a final project of designing a beverage holder, which was chosen to be displayed in the program’s final project presentation show for the community. He also attends Filmsters Academy during the summer months, where he learns the art of filmmaking. In his free time, he enjoys drawing, watching documentaries, making short films, traveling to new places and spending time with his family and friends. Joseph is an amazing young man who will be continuing his education at Georgetown Preparatory High School in the fall of 2023, after he transitions from 8th grade.

What's one thing you want everyone to know about the star local student?

Joseph is quite an accomplished young man. But, his biggest attributes are that he's compassionate and has a servant's heart. He loves to help and serve others.

Congratulations on your achievements, and all of our best wishes to you in the future, Joseph!

This content is brought to our community in partnership with T-Mobile.