June 14, 2007
HOUSTON – Over 500 middle school students from the Prepared4Life summer programs gathered today for a seminar on Broadcast Media hosted by their partner, The Brilliant Lectures Series - Conversation with Brilliance, and sponsored in part by Peoples Trust Federal Credit Union, Schlumberger and Capital One. The event took place at Stevenson Middle School in southeast Houston.

The Brilliant Lecture Series presented guest speakers D'Artagnan Bebel, VP & General Manager of FOX 26 and My20 television stations, Jose Grinan, the Fox Morning News Anchor and Melinda Spaulding, the Fox 12-noon News Anchor.  Each of them talked about their jobs, the paths they followed to achieve their goals and answered questions from the audience.

This was the first of The Brilliant Lecture Series – Conversation with Brilliance summer series of BRiLL KiDS Talks – part of the International Youth Leadership Program – which are specifically designed to encourage young people to view their own lives with fresh eyes and offer opportunities for growth and development by hearing how prominent people in the community have accomplished their own goals. The environments for this series are more intimate and allow greater opportunities for dialogue with the speakers than do the larger events: “……A Conversation with Sir Sidney Poitier” for example.

Two more BRiLL KiDS Talks are planned for this summer. At the University of St. Thomas on July 26, the focus will be on NASA and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and the final session will focus on finance and will be held at the Federal Reserve Bank in August.

Above (left to right): Jose Grinan (FOX 26)’ Melinda Spaulding (FOX 26); Khalilah Cambell, Dean of Students, Stevenson Middle School; Scott Brogan, Founding Director of The Brilliant Lecture Series, Inc; Jane Crump, Principal, Stevenson Middle School; Linda Birt, Community Relations Director, Peoples Trust Federal Credit Union; Lisa Caruso, Prepared4Life; and D'Artagnan Bebel, Vice President and General Manager, FOX 26/My20.

Above, (left to right): Scott Brogan, Founding Director of The Brilliant Lecture Series, Inc.; Jose Grinan, Fox 26 News Anchor; Prepared4Life student questioners, Janice Araujo, Irma Chavez, Oscar Abrego, Jordan Cline and Alex Gutierrez; Melinda Spaulding, Fox 26 News Anchor; Lisa Caruso, Prepare4Life Site Coordinator; D'Artagnan Bebel, Vice President and General Manager, FOX 26/My20.

To learn more about The Brilliant Lecture Series – Conversations with Brilliance and the organization’s mission and programs, visit www.brilliantlectures.com.