North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 20, 2020 Page: 4 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: North Texas Daily / The Campus Chat and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Special Collections.
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ARTS & LIFE
Page 4
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020
NTDAILY.COM
COMMUN ROOTS
Patrick Powers, 26, teaches his class at Bettye Myers Middie School on Dec. 13,2019. Nia Estrada
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his mouth. Blood gushed from his lips
as Powers looked at him shocked and
confused. When his mother found out
about the incident, she immediately
rushed him to the hospital.
“I’ll never forget the tight grip [from]
my mother as she grasped my hand
while her body [shook] looking at her
only child suffering,” Powers said.
When Powers returned to school,
he went to different classrooms and
gave speeches regarding the situation.
He discussed why it is important to
make the right decisions, and not let
factors impact your potential outcome,
while dressed in a suit with a bandage
covering his lip. This was the first time
Powers saw the influence someone
could have by standing in front of a
classroom, addressing students about
a cause and was inspired to become an
educator.
" [ had always felt I had a unique set of
skills, the ability to think for myself, be
creative and present myself accordingly
to different situations, but it never
dawned on me to apply these skills aS a
teacher,” Powers said. "My experience is
pretty rare for a senior in high school, or
anyone for that matter, but getting the
chance to connect with students while
I enlightened their mindset... That’s
something a teacher does every day.”
After high school graduation, Powers
began community college and worked as
a mentor with Communities in Schools,
a program that helps students who face
challenges, build relationships with
mentors and help guide them to stay in
school. Two years later, after working
with different elementary and middle
schools, Powers had the opportunity to
go back to his former high school and
mentor 50 at-risk students as a success
coach.
After transferring to UNT in 2014,
Powers joined the NAACP as their
education chair and tried to join an
organization, Collegiate too, where
African-American men could promote
success in their community. While the
UNT chapter never got off the ground,
this inspired Powers to help students in
his own community back home. Once
Powers got the green light to speak at
his former elementary school along
with other college students, he recruited
UNT students and drove them to J. H.
FT 4
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want to see drag, but do not know where to go.
“I think that more youth spaces need to provide
more of a queer space,” Voyant said.
Shasta Montana started drag at a UPC show
last year and wants to continue drag after college.
Montana described her style as “a crossroads of
Kim Petras and Mary Poppins.”
“I love to bring glamour,” Montana said. “I love
to bring high energy, and just overall a good time
so I’m excited to instill that in the people that are
watching tonight.”
High energy is what the audience got — by the
end of the lip sync battle, after Montana snatched
two different wigs off to reveal another wig
underneath, the sound of cheers was deafening
and several audience members were on their feet.
After another round of Twitter voting, Montana
was crowned (or sashed) Mx. Kerr Hall.
The night was more than a win for Montana,
but for UNT’s LGBTQ community at large. Callen
said providing students with a space where they
can dress up and be themselves, especially for her
cousin, was a rewarding experience.
"For her to have this type of community as well
and to see like how positive and fun and accepting
it can be makes me very happy,” Callen said.
Hines Elementary School later that
week for an event called Empowering
the Youth. This event became the start
of the Lost Generation.
Tacoby Bennet, a 25-year-old team
leader of warehouse operations at
Medical Warehouse, was one of the first
members of the organization. Powers
met Bennet in spring 2015 when the two
attempted to join the Collegiate too.
“I was disappointed that the
Collegiate too never pulled through,”
Bennet said. “But I think this helped
Patrick develop the Lost Generation
because he talked about starting his
own organization. We’ve been like
brothers ever since.”
By the spring semester, Powers had
recruited enough students to create an
official UNT organization to inspire and
empower future generations of kids by
providing students with different types
of learning, encouragement and life
skills so they can be the best version of
themselves.
“I wanted to invite people who had
walked the same streets or pathways
as these kids that made something of
themselves and overcome different
obstacles to be successful,” Powers said.
Marketing senior Destyni Clark
joined as a freshman in spring 2017. She
said it inspired her to become the leader
she is today.
“This organization made me want to
do more and become better with myself,
so I could help the youth and make the
world a better place for everyone,” Clark
said.
The
to
Mx Kerr Hall crowns new champion
SHOW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
range of drag styles, from the comedic queen who
uses “unconventional items to put on a show”
Fracasa Titicaca, to the goth male impersonator
Rys Withoutaspoon. San Antonio-based Juana
Velez brought Latin flavor to Mx. Kerr Hall, and
the fashion major incorporates a 60s aesthetic
into her Mexican and Cuban showgirl style.
“Usually, a lot of people who do Spanish songs
are more contemporary, and do stuff like Shakira,
J-Lo, Selena,” Velez said. “I do more vintage
things so I think [it] will be really interesting for
the audience to see something different that they
may have not heard of before.”
After the runway portion and seven individual
performances, the top four were grouped into two
lip sync battles. Audience members voted on the
winners of each battle via Twitter poll, and the
winners faced off in the final lip sync challenge.
Performers Claire Voyant and Shasta Montana
secured the top two spots.
Claire Voyant, who started drag in her bedroom
at 15 and began performing last summer, is
inspired by the aesthetic of early 2000s movies
like “Mean Girls.” She said events like Mx. Kerr
Hall are important because many young people
___ ___JT
Mx Kerr Hall host, Trisha Delish, announces Claire Voyant and Shasta
Montana as the finalists on Feb. 18,2020. Ricardo Vasquez
This story is part of the Daily’s
partnership with NABJ, known as
commUN rooTs.
Patrick Powers, a 26-year-old UNT
alumnus and teacher at Bettye Meyers
Middle School, is part of the two percent
of teachers in the U.S. who are African-
American men and has a passion
for helping the future generation of
students. He hopes to accomplish
this inside and outside the classroom
through his different approaches to
teaching and his nonprofit called the
Lost Generation.
His impact did not start at Bettye
Meyers, nor was education Powers’
first choice. His purpose became clear,
he said, after he faced adversity for the
first time during his senior year of high
school in 2011.
It was a crisp October day when
Powers bumped into his cousin at
the local fair in Waco. During their
conversation, a man came up from
behind and struck Powers’ face. His lip
was split open and a tooth shifted in
Lost Generation’s mission
is to encourage students ranging
from elementary school to high
school through collegiate mentors,
enlightening events and interactive
clubs. Their goal is to bring class,
elegance and dignity to the classroom,
so students can have an eagerness to
learn and overcome obstacles hindering
their success. Some programs and events
include an anti-bullying seminar, a
mental-illness seminar and Empowering
the Youth. In one year, the Lost
Generation helped over 5,000 students
across Texas, according to their official
website, thelostgenerationassc.org.
This story has been shortened
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NTDaily.com
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Cottam, Zachary. North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 20, 2020, newspaper, February 20, 2020; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1424760/m1/4/?q=green+energy: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.