Charles Co. North Point senior designs shirt for breast cancer awareness

A North Point High School senior blended design and school pride on a project to give back to the community.

Takiyah Roberts created a T-shirt design to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation resulting in a $500 donation. Developed under Roberts’s clothing brand, Undefined, the shirt was available to order for a limited time in October — Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Roberts is enrolled in the Academic Eagles class which focuses on creating a culture for North Point while boosting morale during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The goal of the class is twofold,” instructor Joe Burton said. The class is meant to build effective leaders while giving students a behind-the-scenes look at how to share a message with others, while supporting the school.

“We are a Renaissance program, which is built on respect, recognition, rewarding, reinforcing, and getting results,” Burton said. “We work really hard to make sure that every student and every staff member is a part of our school community, and building a culture that continues to make everyone feel that they belong.”

Burton presented the class with the idea of creating something for breast cancer awareness. Along with two classmates, Roberts brainstormed concepts before getting to work.

“Takiyah is a great student,” Burton said. “She is our designer in Academic Eagles. Anything we talk about making, she typically designs and has a copy to us by the end of the class. She is a very hard worker, and a driven student who is set on her goals.”

When it came to the shirt’s design, Roberts knew she could play with color while sticking with North Point’s logo. “I thought that the original red, white, yellow and black North Point logo could be transformed into a pink, black and gray reflective logo,” she said. Roberts, a self-taught designer, added her Undefined logo and an awareness ribbon design along with the words NP Nation, a common refrain at the school.

“I love the shirt design,” Burton said. “I like that it was simple, yet had enough different elements to stand out.”

Roberts is a student in the Manufacturing Engineering Technologies Career and Technical Education (CTE) program at North Point. “We turn raw materials into finished products,” she said. “In this class, I work with wood, metals and plastics, and learn how to operate power tools such as a table saw, chop saw, milling machines, surface planers, band saws — just to name a few. I really enjoy working with and transforming various materials.”

She plans to major in material science engineering in college. Her interest in creating and designing will likely benefit others in the future. “I am thankful to be in the position to use my creativity to help others by using my platform and clothing brand to raise money and give back,” Roberts said.

“I love to create, and I wanted to see how my fundraising idea would work and could be implemented with different projects in the future,” Roberts said. “Unfortunately, breast cancer has affected the lives of many and I wanted to create something that would help to recognize survivors and give family members and a friend to honor their loved ones.”

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides 27,000 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 37 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Kathy Kiessling, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).
 
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