Cesar Chavez Students are Subjects of Unique Photographic Poster Exhibit Unveiled May 9

ROYAL OAK, Mich., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, May 9, 2008 Cesar Chavez Academy High School in Southwest Detroit will unveil unique motivational achievement posters at its 12th grade Pinning Ceremony. The posters show character portraits of several of the School's high achieving students using the power of photography.

Creator of the project, photographer Fred Ferris, came up with the idea to donate his services to the school in a meaningful way that would touch young people's lives. Ferris says, "I wanted to show my appreciation for being their school photographer and at the same time use photography to convey a message. All schools use posters as a way to model positive behavior. These achievement posters are unique in their design and have a direct appeal to high school students."

Instead of using look-alike student models to communicate a positive message, Ferris used real Chavez high school students in real school settings with biographies in their own words imprinted on the posters. Fifteen twelfth grade students were photographed -- eight boys and seven girls. The students are not superstars -- simply everyday students who have family, financial and neighborhood issues, and yet they manage their lives to do well in school, in sports, hold part-time jobs, give back to their community through volunteering, serve as role models to their family and friends, and create a real future for themselves. School Leader, Juan Martinez, is emphatic, "You've got to see them to believe it. The posters are incredible character portraits of our students," said Martinez.

The posters recognize the students':
-- educational achievement
-- leadership
-- community service
-- character

Their GPAs range from 2.8 to 4.0. Nearly all are National Honor Society students. Many have achieved honors in history, physics and pre-calculus. Many hold neighborhood part-time jobs from 15 to 30 hours per week. All believe in helping their community, which is why they volunteer at school, at church and at community events. They all plan to attend college following graduation and have earned collectively more than $97,000 in scholarships.

Cesar Chavez Academy High School is at 1761 Waterman St., Detroit. The unveiling is on Friday May 9 at 6:30 p.m. in the gym.

The posters will be displayed throughout the high school for the remainder of this school year and throughout the next school year when in the spring of '09 the process will be repeated by selecting the high achievers from the Class of 2009.

Source: Fred Ferris Associates, LLC

CONTACT: Fred Ferris, Photographer of Fred Ferris Associates,
+1-248-288-0333; Tina Calleja, Admin Assistant to Mr. Martinez of Cesar Chavez
Academy High School, +1-313-551-0611

Web site: http://www.fredferris.com/

2008-05-05 21:22:28 0353217 PRNEWSWIRE