“I always knew she could be that,” said Thorogood, who goes out of his way to set up band auditions for students at the colleges they are considering attending. Jackson recently made history as the first female drum major at Norfolk State University. We talked about HBCUs.”ĪLSO READ | Honoring the pioneers who improved the lives of Black Deaf students across America Which is every band director's dream to have students that have a passion for it, like you do. I was able to introduce her to tenor saxophone. She played guitar but never played a band instrument. He is always looking out for his students.” He had to inspire a lot of kids in their classes and do what they are supposed to do. “The year he came into our program he had to build our music program back up. “He’s a big family kind of person so a lot of the things he does is built around family,” said Jackson. That encouragement and direction helped Freedom High School graduate Quiara Jackson. And if you don’t have it, use this instrument you’ve been playing on for four years to provide you a platform and financial resources to get it done.” Once you leave, it’s going to come out of your pocket. That time will pass once you leave out of the door. “Tutoring you get here won’t be free anymore. “I explain to them, once you leave Freedom, all bets are off,” added Thorogood. “It’s OK to make mistakes when you are in high school, but 'are you able to fix those mistakes before you leave high school?' and doing that, sets them up to start to self-assess what they are going to be like once they walk across the stage.” “Everything they do wrong is a teaching moment to get it right,” said Thorogood. READ | USDA awards $3.25M grant aimed at empowering Black farmers in Prince George’s County Military? Going right into the workforce? Start a business? Do you want to go to college?'”Īs the Band Director at Freedom High School, Thorogood has used his platform to help prepare students for their futures. I appear during planning in teachers’ doorways just to make sure students are on task, doing what they need to do and then I them around junior year and start talking about what college looks like or 'what is your next walk going to be. It’s a lifestyle for us,” Thomas Thorogood told 7News. When the music starts at Freedom High School, so do the lessons on leadership, time management, discipline, practice and a lot of valuable lessons about life. (7News) - The band at Freedom High School in Prince William County put a lot of work into preparing for their performance at this year’s Black History Month special in Woodbridge, Va.Īs 7News Reporter Nick Minock reports, the high school band is learning important life lessons along the way, including some lessons which have helped students make history. He truly believes in the VABA mission and has seen the positive affect on the kids this program has.WOODBRIDGE, Va. Ultimately, Morra returned as a Camp Counselor/Coach. Each summer, Dominic would attend VABA camps, learning the character traits and skills it took to be successful on the court and off. In his senior year at UMW the Eagles, led by Morra, surprised the Division III nation by making a Cinderella-run at another Elite Eight appearance and finished the season with the best record in school history.ĭominic has been a VABA camper since he was about 14 years old. The following year, Morra chose to move closer to home, tranferring to Division III Mary Washington University. The Jaguars made it to the elite eight in his freshman year. His high school accolades include, District Player-of-the-Year, multiple All-Region teams, All-Met Honorable Mention and, in his Senior year, Morra led the DC/Maryland/NoVA ("DMV") in scoring average with 30ppg.Īfter high school, Dominic received a full scholarship to play at Augusta State University a Division-II school in Georgia. Morra ended his high school career at Lake Braddock as the all-time leader in assists, steals, charges and deflections - records that may never be broken. Eventually, Dominic returned as a VABA Summer Camp coach and became one of the campers' favorite coaches.īesides from a dominate scorer, Dominic prided himself on being a savvy, heady point guard and tenacious defender. Throughout his middle and high school career, Dominic attended VABA's "Total Skills Camp" earning MVP, Scottie Pippen Defensive Player, Mr. Coach Morra finished his career as Lake Braddock’s second all-time leader in scoring with 1,561 points, 50 points shy of North Carolina and NBA-star, Hubert Davis. He started on the varsity as a freshman and continued as a four-year starter and two-time Captain. Dominic was born and raised in Northern Virginia, where he graduated from Lake Braddock high school in 2009.
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