RBR students earn NAACP honors

Deshanay Bigelow and Michael Lumish were honored at the Greater Red Bank chapter of the NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet. Deshanay Bigelow and Michael Lumish were honored at the Greater Red Bank chapter of the NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet. LITTLE SILVER — Red Bank Regional High School (RBR) seniors Michael Lumish and Deshanay Bigelow, both of Red Bank, were honored at the Greater Red Bank Chapter of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Freedom Fund Banquet held Dec. 12 at Gibbs Hall.

Michael was the recipient of the chapter’s Education Award, and Deshanay received the Community Service Award.

RBR 2009 graduate Anthony Kevin Smith Jr. received the chapter’s scholarship award of $1,000. He is a freshman at Kean University, where he is studying business management and marketing.

The event, themed “100 Years of Bold Dreams and Big Victories,” celebrated the centennial anniversary of the NAACP.

Also honored were the Rev. Terrance K. Porter, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church in Red Bank, who received the Presidential Award, and Fair Haven Chief of Police Darryl G. Breckenridge Sr., who received the Public Service Award.

Lumish attends RBR’s Academy of Information and Technology. He is a National Merit semifinalist and will attend Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where he intends to study computer science. He is a member of the National Honor Society as well as the English, Spanish and Technical honor societies, and serves as president of RBR’s Computer Science Club and math team. He has shared his scholarly gift with the community as a tutor at The SOURCE and the Red Bank Middle School summer programs.

Bigelow is an honor student and maintains leadership positions as president of the Black American Cultural Association at RBR and as Student Council secretary. She is also a member of RBR’s Fashion Club and the Black/HispanicAchievers Club. She has volunteered in the community at Lunch Break and the Count the Children Program.

The Greater Red Bank Chapter of the NAACP shares the mission of its national organization, “to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of the rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.” It is one of the oldest chapters in Monmouth County and has operated in the community for 52 years.