High school seniors from Alachua, Marion counties honored at cotillion ball in Gainesville
Ten high school seniors from Alachua and Marion counties were honored for their graceful transition into adulthood.
They were recognized during the inaugural Renascence Beautillion-Cotillion Ball sponsored by 100 Black Men of Greater Florida GNV and Wishful Thinking, a Gainesville-based nonprofit organization that provides cancer patient and family support services. The ball was held Saturday at the University of Florida Hilton Conference Center at 1714 SW 34th St.
The theme of the ball was “Dawning of A New Day.”
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The ball is a coming-of-age event for young men and women, and it featured song and dance performances by those who were invited to participate in the ball that was hosted by the Rev. Ron Rawls, pastor of Greater Bethel AME Church in southeast Gainesville, and his wife, Judge Meshon Rawls of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.
The high school seniors who participated in the ball were John Cooper Jr., Moria Bowman, Neziah Curtis, Peyton Hebert, Zachery Galloway, So'Unique High, David Jones, Laila Jones, Ian Rentz and Kalani Vreen.
The young men were dressed in three-piece suits with white or black bow ties with white gloves and the young women were dressed in white gowns with tiaras and white gloves.
“I’m excited to inspire young people to connect and to be familiar with the people they can look up to and see in leadership,” said Tarcha Rentz, Ph.D., co-chair of the ball and co-founder of Wishful Thinking.
The word "renascence" means the revival of something that has been dormant. She also said the students who participated in the ball had been involved with etiquette classes since the fall.
"They developed a camaraderie where there was once isolation,” Rentz said. “That's important as you get back to normalcy. We are looking forward to seeing what they do. I have seen them check on each other and that's cool to see. We hope to maintain community and stay in touch.”
Kalani Vreen, a senior at Gainesville High School, said the lessons were not easy, but were worthwhile.
“It was nice seeing strong women lead by example,” Green said. “ In my etiquette classes, I learned how to walk properly and how to do my makeup.”
Vreen said she admired the support from the different coaches that were involved.
“You can tell they were one hundred percent into it and they had our best interest at heart,” Vreen said. “I hope this continues next year for young Black men and Black women to experience this.”
Zachery Galloway, a Gainesville High School senior, said he plans on attending the University of Cincinnati to pursue a dual major in music with a focus on the saxophone and African American studies.
“In every bit of it we learned something,” Galloway said. “It challenged us to tackle our goals and showed us how attainable they were. It is important for young men and young women to learn about each other. We have grown into a family.”
Wishful Thinking was created in 2015 and co-founded by Rentz and Maria Zayala to help breast cancer survivors, especially during the holiday season. Rentz, a 1990 Eastside High School graduate, said a similar ball was held when she was a teenager and wanted to bring it back for this generation.
She said she spoke with her husband, Ishmael Rentz, about the impact the ball had on the lives of those who participated in the event during her teen years. They then reached out to Matt Bowman, who is affiliated with 100 Black Men of Greater Florida GNV., and he agreed to co-chair the event to bring back the ball for this year's high school seniors.
The ball began with an invocation prayer by the Rev. Kevin Thorpe, pastor of Faith Baptist Church. That was followed by a greeting from Ray McKnight, president of 100 Black Men of Greater Florida GNV.
“Thank you to each and everyone of you who helped,” McKnight said. “Stay committed to dreaming. The 100 Black Men got involved because we wanted to expose our young men to a refined culture and we wanted them to engage in something. I always tell young people to dream big so they can do big.”
The keynote speaker was Dr. Sean Benoit, chief medical officer for HCA North Florida Regional Medical Center, who spoke about maintaining friendships.
"Cherish those friendships because they are the ones who will be with you for the rest of your lives,” Benoit said. “Regardless of what's going on, my desire is to tell you to not be the best one in the world, but to be the best you can possibly be. Study yourself, challenge yourself and take care of yourself.”
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Ball honoring Black teens held at UF Hilton Hotel in Gainesville
