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In the time that I have spent with Ms. Jackie she has become more than just a coworker, she has become my friend. Jackie is a thoughtful and good-hearted person who has taught me so much over the past year. I have gotten to know all about Jackie’s life and what she stands for, and I would like to share this with you. |
Jacqulyn Delorise Mays-Phelps was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, into a family of four. She graduated High School at Hollywood Hills and went to further her education at Sheridan Vocational, where she received a degree in Nursing and in Business. She then got married at 19 and had her daughter Kasha. With the responsibility of a child she stayed home to raise her for the next five years. Jackie decided that it was time to go back to college and over the next few years achieved an AA degree in criminal justice at BCC. Around the time Jackie graduated she had her second child Tron. While Tron was still a youngster Jackie held two jobs, one as a bus driver for the Broward County Schools and the other for Dr. Ruda as a receptionist. After taking a year vacation she found her way to the UKC, where she has been ever since.
Jackie is such a hard worker and has been that way all her life. She always says that in order to achieve what you want in life you must work hard, stay focused, and finish what you started. She has met her life’s challenge through dedication, faith, and a positive attitude. She has brought all of these wonderful qualities with her to the UKC and it is a pleasure to work with her, and to see her smiling face everyday. Thank you Jackie for all you have given me.
By: Arielle Meyer
Beyond Survival: Doing the Right Thing
Gerald Coffey, a former P.O.W. in Vietnam, has written about his experiences as a captured pilot at the hands of his enemy. One minute he was one of America’s military elite, flying a volunteer mission at high altitudes in a distant war, and the next he was injured and struggling to stay afloat while fighting for his life under enemy fire in the choppy seas of Indo-China an instant transition of the most dramatic kind - a change of circumstances that was abrupt, life-threatening and permanent. Coffey wrote that he did not remember releasing his parachute, inflating his life raft or removing his helmet - all necessary survival procedures that he performed automatically, though unconsciously, after his plane was hit and he plunged into the ocean below. Years of military training had prepared him for just such an emergency and he was able to react appropriately.
When we civilians consider a situation like Coffey’s we can understand and appreciate the value of a military regimen because its benefits are so clearly demonstrated by his experience. However, when discipline and routine are applied in sports or in school it becomes another matter for most of us. We question it, and discuss it, we challenge it, yet we often ask for it when our children and our institutions get out of control. On the one hand, we identify with the challenges of the 1960’s which developed civil disobedience almost into an art form. On the other hand, we recall the orderliness and outward security that obedience seemed to offer throughout the 1950’s. Two very different concepts embodied in one generation, the Baby Boomers, who were born after World War II and currently outnumber other age groups. This generation’s impact, now being registered culturally and politically, is shaping contemporary philosophical attitude.
Martial Arts is both a discipline and an art form. It is martial, therefore it lends itself well to regimentation, as does the military. It is an art, and as such requires the students to explore the mental and emotional aspects of themselves. Karate Do, the way of the empty hand, balances the right and left hemispheres of the brain by engaging the rational and the intuitive aspects of the mind simultaneously. This is the function of regular training in basics, strategy, and kata, essentially simple actions, that are developed through repetition and practice, to crystallize into a profound understanding. Such knowledge of oneself develops a touchstone within, a capacity to act with wisdom, to do the "right thing".
Sensei Robert Heale Mason c1993
One of the most important elements of the Martial Arts is
that of respect. The Martial Arts teach you that you should respect other people as well
as yourself. To that end, there is a code of Martial Arts Manners that all students of the
Arts should learn and follow.
One great way you can demonstrate good Martial Arts manners is by learning the proper way and times to bow. A bow is a sign of respect to your fellow students and your teachers and shows all around that you are a polite person. When you bow to you opponent before a match it tells your opponent that you respect him or her that you, in turn, wish to be approached with respect. Another way in which you can practice Martial Arts manners is by using the term Sensei when speaking with your instructor. Sensei is Japanese for teacher and conveys to your instructor a degree of respect and admiration for his/her level of skill and accomplishment.
A third way that you might display your Martial Arts Manners is by showing respect to your fellow students. You can do this by waiting for others to speak before you begin, by never making fun of students that are different or less accomplished than you and by being a true friend to those about you. In other words, treat other as you would wish to be treated.