Sankofa Collegiate Scholarship Program: “The Ultimate Selfie”

Sankofa: “Go back and fetch it.” We must look back to our past so that we may understand how we became what we are, and move forward to a better future.

WHAT IS THE SANKOFA COLLEGIATE SCHOLARSHIP?

The Sankofa Collegiate Scholarship Program is designed to help secure funds for high school juniors and seniors as they go off to college and currently enrolled college freshman and sophomores as they continue to pursue their collegiate endeavors. This helps with the mission of empowering our youth through education.

WHAT IS THE ULTIMATE SELFIE?

I must admit that the “Ultimate Selfie” is not an original idea of M.A.D.I.O.C Inc.The concept of the ultimate selfie originated from African Ancestry, Inc., the Black-owned technology company that pioneered genetics ancestry tracing for people of African descent.

Founded in 2003 by Dr. Rick Kittles and Gina Paige, African Ancestry is the world leader in tracing maternal and paternal lineages of African descent. African Ancestry has helped more than 150,000 people re-connect with the roots of their family tree.

Most companies can only tell you what continent you originated from, but not what country. With the industry’s largest and most comprehensive database of over 30,000 indigenous African samples, African Ancestry determines specific countries and—more often than not—specific ethnic groups of origin with an unrivaled level of detail, accuracy and confidence.

For more information on African Ancestry Inc, including program fees, contact Nichole Taylor .

The Ultimate Selfie is designed to connect identities to Excellence & Achievements.“Studies have shown that young people with healthier identities are more likely to be successful in school and life and less likely to bully or be violent, among other things,” said African Ancestry co-founder Gina Paige. “The Ultimate Selfie was created to enlighten on identity, educate on the importance of knowing who you are and inspire respect and pride among participants.”
The Concept of the Ultimate Selfie aligns with the goals and purposes of M.A.D.I.O.C Inc. where our mission is to “restore our communities by encouraging respect, establishing ethics, and empowering our youth through education, therefore we feel that it is only fitting to include some parts of the core program into our Sankofa Collegiate Scholarship Program.

The core programming of M.A.D.I.O.C’s version of the “Ultimate Selfie” includes:

  • Student Learning Activities
  • African Ancestry Education Presentations
    Sankofa: “Go back and fetch it.” We must look back to our past so that we may understand how we became what we are, and move forward to a better future.

Rules to Complete the Ultimate Selfie

1st Take your best selfie

Describe what you see in this picture by asking and answering the following questions about yourself

  • Who are you?
  • What do you like about yourself?
  • What do you dislike about yourself?
  • Who do you look like? (i.e. mom, dad, grandparents, aunts, uncle etc.)

2nd Research your family history

  • Complete 3 interviews of older relatives, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, and cousins

3rd Create a power point presentation about what you learned about your family history to include a family tree.

4th Prepare a tri-fold display board to be presented at the Sankofa Collegiate Scholarship Dinner July 30th, 2016. To include a final Selfie taken after all the research is done.