NOMINEE | 2021
DR. RACHEL SHELLEY PRINCIPAL, BOOKER HIGH SCHOOL
“Every day I am thankful for the opportunity:
the opportunity
to inspire; the opportunity to encourage; and the opportunity to motivate our students, our staff and our community.”
I AM DR. RACHEL SHELLEY, THE PROUD PRINCIPAL OF BOOKER HIGH SCHOOL and the co-founder of Booker Promise Foundation, a program providing college scholarships to economically deprived Booker High School students. Booker Promise is my promise to our students to help them navigate their futures successfully. Their journey doesn’t end upon crossing the stage while clutching a diploma. It continues until they have the skills necessary to live the life of their dreams. My story is one of someone who came from low-income housing to become a community leader, a popular and successful principal, and a woman on a mission. I want all my students to know they can do it too—whatever their passion or goals—they can overcome life’s obstacles. I look forward to the day when the Booker Promise becomes the “Sarasota Promise” and our entire community steps up and replicates our efforts at Booker Promise.
BOOKER PROMISE FOUNDATION 3201 North Orange Ave. Sarasota, FL | 941-928-0567 | BookerPromise.org
NOMINEE | 2021
DOLLY JACOBS
CO-FOUNDER, CIRCUS ARTS CONSERVATORY "Sometimes people help you and they don't even realize how
they're planting seeds in you that will last forever. I want to honor this incredible world of the circus and to honor all those great
artists that came before us and laid the foundation for the rest of us, it's upon their shoulders we stand.”
CIRCUS ARTS CONSERVATORY CO-FOUNDER AND 2015 NEA NATIONAL HERITAGE FELLOW, DOLLY JACOBS is a world-renowned circus aerialist as well as a dedicated coach, sharing the tradition of circus arts through teaching and performance. She was born into a family of circus royalty and became known as “Queen of the Air” for performing on the Roman Rings and Aerial Straps, showcasing acts of grace, strength and daring. Dolly holds her circus legacy close to her heart and believes in passing her knowledge of the circus arts onto the next generation by coaching at The Sailor Circus Academy, a training program that she participated in as a child. Dolly worked incredibly hard to accomplish all that she has. She’s never felt that she got there on her own; it's through the help of others.
THE CIRCUS ARTS CONSERVATORY 2075 Bahia Vista St. Sarasota, FL | 941.355.9335 | CircusArts.org
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