CITIZEN
Vol. 31 No. 10
Back to School
page 4
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So u t h
gwinnett Est. 1988 Covering Snellville, Lawrenceville, Grayson, Loganville
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AUGUST 2019
Gwinnett-based Athletic Club wins National Title in U.S. Youth Soccer Championship By Julie Thompson GwinnettCitizen.com
Pastries anyone? page 11
Last month, the Kalonji Soccer Academy (KSA) sent two teams to the US Youth Soccer Association Nationals held in Kansas. Returning to Gwinnett on July 28, the boys came home champions, with the KSA 2001 team taking home the National Title after scoring 7-0 in their final match. The 2004 team finished fourth place in their age rank. “It was a huge accomplishment,” said Coach Bruno Kalonji, who founded KSA as a nonprofit in 2014. He’s proud but hardly surprised by how well his boys performed. The boys had been pushing their limits all summer. Almost every morning, they ran Stone Mountain at 7 a.m. and finished practice at Central Gwinnett Park by 9 a.m. Then at 6:30, they were back at the park, practicing until 10:30 at night. The rigor of their training may seem a little unorthodox to some, but as parent-volunteer Kisha Cameron says, “This is what champions do. And these kids are champions.” Kisha’s son attends Woodward Academy in College Park and joined the team only a few weeks before Nationals. She’s one of five parents who can afford to pay membership fees, and even Photo by Julie Thompson though her son didn’t start early enough in the season to compete with the others, she’s glad her dues helped pay for some of the The Kalonji Soccer Academy’s 2001 team took home the National Title at the 2019 US Youth Soccer Championship held in Kansas this summer. L-R: Coach Santino Jerke, Siem Beraki travel expenses.
See KALONJI on Page 30 Anchored in Hope page 23
(Central, Midfielder), Coach Bruno Kalonji, Daniel Vahnie, (Right Defender) and Coach Borfor “Bof” Carr.
Gwinnett Teen Dreams of Broadway By Julie Thompson GwinnettCitizen.com
The LIttle Gym page 24
INSIDE Citizen Connection 4 Gwinnett Pulse 8 Road Runner 14 Spiritual 16 Health & Wellness 18 Announcements 24
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Ally Copeland, a sophomore at Grayson High School, started acting in Couch Middle School’s theater program in the sixth grade. Working to hone her craft, Ally has grown as an actor and as a person, and there’s no other life she can imagine for herself besides the lights, the action and all the pizazz that comes with musical theater. “Just all of it. Just all of it coming together after all the hard work, the payoff is just amazing,” said Ally whose dream is to study theater in college and lead a career that allows her to make a living doing what she loves most, performing. When Ally was in elementary school, her mom, Cheryl Copeland, taught at Couch Middle School and would often volunteer with musicals and talent shows. Ally would come sit and watch the rehearsals, wondering all the while what it would be like to perform on stage herself. “It was something I was always interested in doing,” said Ally, admitting it took a measure of courage and the help of a supportive friend to finally go for it. “I had no idea where this path was going to lead me.” In the seventh grade Ally began taking classes, both for dance and musical theater, at A Step Ahead Performing Arts Studio in Loganville, Ga. With encouragement and support from the director, Bernice Drothler, Ally began to
Hearts to Nourish Hope helps wayward youth in Gwinnett find purpose
Special photo
Ally Copeland playing Bridget, the high school mascot, in Bring it On: The Musical at Grayson High School. It was challenging for Ally, who was a freshman at the time, to play the role of a senior, but Ally later admitted it was ‘definitely’ the favorite role she’s played yet.
fall in love with every aspect of performing on stage. After appearing in roughly three musicals a year at A Step Ahead, Ally’s skill set and confidence level have escalated more than she could have imagined. She believes all of this training, and playing characters such as Pumbaa, Scuttle and Ursula, contributed to her landing a lead role as Bridget in Bring it On during her freshman year at Grayson High School.
See DREAMS on Page 28
Photo by Julie Thompson
Hearts to Nourish Hope staff. L-R: Ericka Leslie, Career Case Manager; Kevin Vu, Intern; Oscar Parada, Intern; Patrice Wuerth, COO; Royale Schoepf, Counselor, and Timothy Whailen, LMSW.
By Julie Thompson GwinnettCitizen.com Patrice Wuerth, COO and Co-founder of local non-profit “Hearts to Nourish Hope”, is on a mission to provide work and education opportunities to troubled youth in the community. With a new center in Lawrenceville that focuses on ages 16 to 24, Patrice sees all kinds
of possibilities to make a difference for those in DEFACS, the Juvenile Court system and out-of-school teens in Gwinnett. “We’re always looking for new partnerships and work experience opportunities to help the kids,” Patrice said. As a theater graduate from New York University, Patrice found her way to Georgia about 30
See HEARTS on Page 26