Nine-year-old Amanda Daugherty, a third-grader at Longfellow Elementary School, knows she has to go to college if she wants to realize her ambition of becoming a veterinarian.
But that message was re- inforced last week when the Columbia school held its third College Day. SoulStice, a hip-hop musician who works by day as an engineer with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in North Laurel, came to her class to talk about the importance of education.
Every classroom received a visit from SoulStice or another speaker, who engaged the students in a talk about college and careers. "He was telling us a little about himself," Amanda said, adding that he then asked the students about their plans for the future.
The day was capped off with a thumping performance from SoulStice in the cafeteria.
"I like his music," Amanda said over the din.
Longfellow officials started College Day three years ago. Lucille Butler, the first-grade teacher who is the prime organizer of College Day, said it has been growing every year. Last year, for the first time, speakers from outside the school came in to talk about their careers and education, she said. This year, musical entertainment in the form of SoulStice was added.
But the underlying goal of promoting a college education has never changed, Butler said.
"I have always shared my college experiences with my kids," she said. "We're trying to implant it in their minds early."
Molly Ketterer, assistant principal at Longfellow, said the goal is to get young children to think about college as an inevitable part of their future. "They're very excited about today," she said.
To underline their college experiences, teachers wore shirts from their alma maters, including Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, University of Colorado and others. Some of the students wore college shirts, too, and students and teachers alike wore stickers that said "College is Cool."
Joan Tellish, the Gifted and Talented Program resource teacher, said the day's focus is on "the importance of education," and not on any particular college or career.
For the SoulStice performance, students filed into the cafeteria and sat cross-legged on the floor. Once they were settled, Butler, speaking into a microphone, explained that "College Day is something we have at Longfellow so we think about the future."
She said all careers require education. A fashion designer, for example, needs math to learn about shapes and designs, she said. Then she introduced SoulStice, saying, "He has gone to college and has his degrees, but he does music on the side."
The curtains on stage were parted and SoulStice emerged, singing the line "If I can't do it then it can't be done." Before long, he had the students singing along.
SoulStice, whose real name is Ashley Llorens, grew up in Chicago and now lives in Columbia. He earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
While working as an engineer, he has been building a hip-hop career, releasing solo albums that include North by Northwest in 2003 and the newly released Dead Letter Perfect.
For most of the show, SoulStice was off the stage and moving among the students. At one point, he urged the teachers to join him in a simple dance, then asked some of the students to do the same thing.
"These are skills you're going to need when you go to college," he said. "Go to a party and do this little two-step here."
"After you get your studying done," he added.
ksnitkin@comcast.net
