BY JOO EUN KIM

Staff Writer

Every young child needs to be told of someone's success story in order to be inspired to become successful in life. George Washington Carver, an African-American biochemist, is a role model for many young children who have barriers to overcome in their lives. On Wednesday, Nov. 7, the pre-college program at Calvin hosted a George Washington Carver Event in the Commons Lecture Hall, from 7-8 p.m. About 40 children from the Boys Club of the First Christian Reformed Church, grades three to six, came to Calvin to learn about George Washington Carver.

``For both whites and minority students, [the event] is an eye-opener,'' Morris Greidanus, the pastor of First Christian Reformed Church and the Boys Club leader, said. The Boys Club of the First Christian Reformed Church is a group made up of elementary children that meets every Wednesday for worship or an outing.

The children who came were racially diverse, and they learned side-by-side about how George Washington Carver, who was a minority during a time of oppression, came to be successful in life. There were eight Calvin student volunteers and a handful of leaders from the First Christian Reformed Church.

The evening started off with a brief overview of Carver's life. Born as a slave in 1864, Carver lived through many trials, including the death of his father by accident and the disappearance of his mother.

``He and his mother were kidnapped,'' Mariah Gormas, a Calvin student volunteer, said, raising the children's cries of amazement.

Carver's mother was never found although Carver was brought back. He worked his way through schools and invented 325 products from peanuts and hundreds more from other plants, according to Iowa State University. Furthermore, Carver traveled around the country, educating farmers, especially black farmers, on agriculture.

``[Carver] was an educator,'' Peter Overvoorde, the coordinator of the pre-college program, said, giving a reason why the children should learn about Carver.

For the latter part of the event, children were divided into five groups, and they traveled around five stations learning about different aspects of Carver's life. Stations consisted of games and discussions. The children were given the chance to have hands-on activities and encouraged to overcome trials like Carver did. At the end, the children were all given a handful of peanuts to remember what Carver had accomplished.

``The kids learned a lot. We tried doing things differently from what they would do in a classroom,'' said Overvoorde.

The volunteers felt positive about the event. ``It was so fulfilling,'' said Deborah Walker, one of the Calvin students who helped out with the event.

The pre-college program, which hosted the event, usually puts out a calendar for 15-16 churches, and they, in turn, contact the program to suggest possible events.

``Churches call us and want us to cover what they're studying. [The George Washington Carver Event] was tailored by the First Christian Reformed Church,'' Overvoorde said.