News Item
Teen Beauty Queen Extols Virtues of Diversity at RJK Middle School
March 2009
When
Robert J. Kaiser Middle School guidance counselor Karen Warden
heard about the desire of Miss Teen New York International,
Ariana Kaminski, to spread her philosophy on “Appreciating
Diversity,” she knew the students at her school RJK students
would be a receptive audience. In a partnership with Home &
Careers teacher Karen Mahoney, she invited Ms. Kaminski to
speak.
Adorned with her official sash and tiara, the petite young
beauty queen gave a presentation to the RJK students about the
importance of respecting one another and respecting the
differences between people. She spoke of the shortsightedness of
judging someone by their appearance and how by getting to know
someone is really the only way to understand who they are. She
spoke about her own experiences being from a racially mixed
family - her dad is Caucasian and her mother is African-American
– and how when she was younger, she wasn’t popular in school
because she didn’t fit in. She explained how even today, she’s
not allowed to visit the home of one of her best friends because
her friend’s parents “don’t like black people.”
During her presentation, Ariana engaged in an intense
conversation about the diverse community that comprises
Monticello Schools and how life is more interesting because
everyone is not exactly alike. Students participated in a
question-and-answer session and shared their experiences about
discrimination and bullying. One 8th grader explained how she
was nervous when she first came to the middle school from the
Rutherford Elementary School and how she thought the students
who were from Chase and Duggan Elementary Schools wouldn’t be
nice to her - now, some of her best friends are from those
schools. Another student explained how she is teased by her
peers because she’s a vegetarian. While yet another student
recounted a tale of bullying based on her religious beliefs.
As the discussions continued, the students agreed that although
stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination exists, it is
something that everyone should try to overcome.
Click here to read this story as it appeared in the Times Herald-Record.
Photo: RJK Middle School students Nicole Nitoli, Brianna Cruz, Chaya Barash and Anthony Simpson flank 15-year-old Miss Teen New York International Ariana Kaminski.