#MosquitoClaps I started community managing as a teenager by helping Mama

Muriel

with The

Call of Esther Ministries

’ Christmas parties for youth in our Alexandria, Virginia community; packaging hundreds of Christmas gifts through the season, annually

I went on to preside over numerous and diverse organizations in college; eventually becoming Campus Involvement Director for our over 50,000 community members at the

University of Florida

: Go Gators

In my professional & volunteer life, I have always brought my community engagement passions to the fore.

Firstly, laying the professional blueprint for

Y 107.9 FM Ghana

’s online fan base #YArmy in creating a viable business case for ongoing success, then

Google

’s

YouTube

Content Creator’s Huddles at

ISpace

,

Impact Hub Accra

’s

Apprentice Network Program

and, capping my joyous 7-year curation with our

Global Shapers

community from Accra to Abuja to Port Louis to Addis Ababa to Geneva to Johannesburg to the world #WorldWeShape

It is an honor to help

Facebook

in shaping the Facebook Certified Community Manager Program along with other phenomenal community leaders.

Facebook Community Summit - Sub-Saharan Africa, Speaker: Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor, The Future of Communities #FCS2020

I'm glad to see the ‘Book’s platform creating more opportunities for its users. This certification recognizes and measures comprehension and strategic application of best practices and standards for online community management.

Facebook Certified Community Managers Program

I’m doubly excited that our founding cohort, a little over a hundred amazing community managers across the world, are officially Facebook Certified Community Managers. #GamorLegacy

To learn more about Facebook Blueprint certification check it out here.

So I got to take pictures of Fashion X in Gainesville when I was last there to judge the step show, late February. Shout out to the FX crew, as I was a model myself my junior year. A lot of tedious work and commitment goes into putting on the annual show-from the coordinators, models, to the DJ and hosts. Props to BSU and this year's director, Liana, for a good job well done.

I am reminiscing about my time at UF and the fact that I have become the product of my experiences in Gainesville.
An invaluable lesson that will definitely serve me well was my exposure to cultural diversity. Not just in the text book sense of the word -more black or white people- but in the true appreciation of different cultures such as the Aztek & Mexika peoples.

Gospel Explosion is one of the events that UF members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. put on to herald their Blue and White summer week. I was at the event for a while, and then was griped by an unexpected flu. Full recovery is in order, and the laptop has returned from repairs!

I was perusing through pictures I took earlier this year including ones from the NPHC Greek picnic at the University of Florida, looking for themes. As if being black, Greek and students weren't enough I present to you: lettered hats! *insert smiley face here*

As promised here is the audio slide show, it is pretty self explanatory. You can click on the four divergent arrows on the far right to view in full screen. Click on CHISPAS for more information about the group. Click here for President Obama's views on the Dream act.

During the latter part of spring this year a group of UF students from CHISPAS ( the Coalition of Hispanic Integrating Spanish Speakers through Advocacy and Service) advocated for the DREAM act to be passed by Congress. D.R.E.A.M. stands for the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act; I'm passionate about the issue and did a soundslide feature on the demonstration that day. Expect it soon.

Ok so the title is in reference to the magazine, Blacklistedmag.com and not my first official shoot for their article 'Brother of Another Color'. I have a vested interest in the online magazine and newsletter because its produced for blacks, by blacks (Like FUBU but Blacklisted is here to stay). The mag presents news stories, addresses controversial issues and updates on pop culture. More importantly it is run by free-thinking friends of mine who tell stories about people like Marcus Brown (picture above) who is an African American in an Inter-Fraternity Council (predominantly white) fraternity. Click here if you are willing to "elevate the dialogue".

Jared and Michelle are two of the most awesome people I know, and yes they are part of the even more awesome graduation class of 2009. Cheers to good, dedicated, life-loving high school sweethearts who are together even after college. I look forward to their successes in the very near future.

...picaboo...

p.s. I love you

Shari-Ann asked me to take pictures of her and Beauchamp, my frat brother, after her grad photo shoot. I was excited about the prospect but I didn't just want to take 'regular' shots of two people, I wanted to play around with concepts a little bit. And these are few shots from the finished product.

Jared and I spent an entire summer and some on Preview staff together. We were part of a team that was responsible in getting freshman psyched for UF and already registered for classes by their first day. The preview experience was bitter sweet, I sacrificed quite a bit but learnt a great deal from it. I dare say I have lifelong friends because of Preview and Jared is one of them. He's engaged to his high school sweetheart, Michelle and I'm incredibly proud of them both. "Jared, my man." (In a Denzel in American Gangster voice)

Peter's one of the first people I took class with at UF, I know my clients all seem to be indelibly tied in with my experiences at the University ('it be like that sometimes'). I forget what honors class we had together but Peter's always been brilliant and we shared the same interest in Political Science. What is even more outstanding is the fact that his step grandmother is Ghanaian! So technically he's family, and we had a chance to bond like relatives during the photo shoot. I did mention somewhere in this blog a picture's meaning can express ten thousand words? Yes I did, its the title.

I have been on the grind with photo shoots this week & Nabbie and I actually lived in the same dorm freshman year. This shoot was especially memorable as we both shared memories way back when my gator 1 ID still looked nice and crisp. I think our friendship translated to her comfort level in front of the lens and even though her shoot took a tad longer than planned it was still a pleasure to catch up with an old friend.

When I left my research methods class yesterday, I noticed students with 'undocumented?' posted on their shirts. To someone else that may have easily been lost in translation. But to any immigrant or student with family members who don't have American citizenship, one would feel almost compelled to stop and find what the placards and protests are about. Maria & Marcos are members of CHISPAS at UF and the were creating awareness for the Dream Act; to allow undocumented high school graduates temporary residency to study in college or join the military. To the many amongst us, including myself, who came to the United States as children and have the potential to thrive given the opportunity to attend college, the Dream Act seems like a basic human right. I only hope the country's leaders and Congress sees so too.