Cynthia Reid Wills grew up poor in the early 60's, but the story of her life is rich with inspiration. Ms. Wills who graduated from Spartanburg High School in 1972, was among the first African American students to attend SHS when Carver Senior High School closed to advance the efforts of integration in the District. Wills, who wryly says she was born to be a cheerleader, started cheering at Carver, then went on to become one of the first black cheerleaders at SHS. In her senior year at the high school, she was not only the lone black student on the squad, she was named the co-captain of the team. Ms. Wills was in Spartanburg on Friday, April 27 and talked with a gym full of girls at Carver Middle School about the movie that tells her life story. Adapted from her book, Content of Character, the movie, by the same title, will debut at the Chapman Cultural Center on Saturday, June 30. With an infectious laugh and boundless encouragement, Wills told her young audience that they too could break barriers and do anything they set their minds to. Following her remarks, the Carver cheerleaders presented her with a personalized Carver megaphone - a priceless keepsake the D7 alumna says she'll cherish forever. Click here to see the trailer of the movie, Content of Character, The Diary of a Young Black Girl, and reserve your tickets now for the June 30 event at the Chapman Cultural Center.

Cynthia Reid Wills Testing Out Her New Megaphone

This spring break, two D7 colleagues and friends accompanied each other on a dream trip, a four-day, 27 mile Inca Trail hike to the ancient city of Machu Picchu. As technology scholars, Kim Buice, Chapman's technology integration specialist and Christine Horowitz, director of instructional technology had very little professional reason to travel to Peru, but having survived together a mile and half trek up the Great Wall of China (largely remembered for pelting  torrential rain) in 2017, they looked at this next adventure as something to starkly different that the usual spring break to Disney World. With the school year winding down, the two educators agreed the timing was right for a decidedly nonacademic adventure far away from all distractions.  Or was it? There was altitude sickness, 3a.m. wakeup calls, days without a shower, an eleven-hour day of hiking that included an ascension at 13,779 feet and the list of challenges goes on! Kim and Christine say nonetheless, the goal to reach the apex of the mountain created great excitement. Add to that, the beauty of their surroundings and the fun of seeing alpacas and llamas and the D7 duo say they came away from their adventure eager to share their stories with students. " The time away," said Kim, "led me to insights I wouldn't have normally gained and inspired a sense of greater purpose in my work."