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Monday, February 17, 2020
Sunday, February 16, 2020
An entrepreneur finds his way to MIT
Jakub Chudik went to China for the first time on his dad’s business trip. A translator communicated in English, and Chudik translated to Slovak, his father’s native language. Just a few years later, as a rising junior at MIT, Chudik was in China again — this time to pitch his own business to Chinese investors.
He was pitching the startup he co-founded: ConquerX, which aims to develop a new type of blood test for detecting early-stage cancers. As chief technology officer, Chudik has high hopes for his company, but he’s also focused on finishing his senior year and graduating with a computer science and engineering degree.
Chudik began his journey to MIT as an entrepreneurially minded high school student in a small town in Slovakia. There, he discovered the free online courses offered by MITx on the edX platform.
He had learned English at his bilingual school and was interested in helping his mother grow her small accounting business, so he completed MITx’s Entrepreneurship 101 and 102 courses. From there, he applied and was accepted to the MIT Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp.
Through the MIT Bootcamp, a weeklong innovation and leadership program on campus for people from across the world, Chudik — who at age 18 was one of the youngest in the group — conceptualized a business idea with a couple of other participants. Among them was Chudik’s current business partner, Deborah Zanforlin, who had the idea for the technology on which ConquerX is based. After the program, he decided to apply to MIT.
“I loved how welcoming the environment at MIT was,” Chudik recalls. “I felt I could be myself and always find support and guidance. Especially being able to have a frank one-on-one discussion with a professor made a big impression on me at the time.”
Hooked by helping people
Chudik became interested in medical technology, especially related to cancer, after his younger brother, who was a toddler at the time, was diagnosed with cancer during Chudik’s first year of high school. His brother is healthy now, but that experience was an eye-opener for Chudik.
“I had never had such a bad disease so close to me before. And I realized how much disease can impact not just the person but the whole family,” he says.
He was hooked by the idea of the startup once Zanforlin told him about the technology she had been working on.
“I thought it would be really great if I could be involved in helping people. I believed that I somewhat understood what people [experiencing cancer] were going through or what our company could help save them from” by enabling early intervention, Chudik says.
Chudik says he had always assumed that only doctors could help people with health problems. “I realize now that you can be an engineer; you could come up with good technology that would maybe help even more people than if you were a doctor.”
Now, through his experience with ConquerX, Chudik has become interested in the management and investing side of business. He thinks he might want to be a chief technology officer for other startups or become a venture capitalist and help fund small businesses.
Chudik spent this past summer working on his startup and gaining more experience — instead of doing an internship, he managed interns at his own startup. But he has used MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) to acquire hands-on experience working for larger companies.
During the IAP of his sophomore year, he went to Singapore and was a research intern for a biomedical institute. And for his junior year, he worked as a data science intern in Geneva for Expedia.
“I must say, though, that classes and the startup have taken the majority of my time during college,” Chudik says.
No longer strictly ballroom
Chudik’s commitment to his startup echoes the way he delved into dance when he was growing up.
His junior high and high school experiences were filled with ballroom dancing. He got swept into it when one of his friends needed a partner, and her entire family came to his house to ask him to join her.
He danced for seven years, which included five years of competitive dance. He became extremely dedicated to the art, training for 12-20 hours a week plus entire weekends at competitions. He would travel to different cities throughout Slovakia, spend hours doing his hair and makeup, and practicing the routine.
After a while, competitive dance started to take over his life and added a lot of stress and demand on his parents, so he stopped.
“I’m glad it’s over now,” he says. Chudik says that he now has more control over his life and has a better sleeping and eating schedule in college than ever before.
“During international student orientation, the sophomore and junior orientation leaders found out about my ballroom dance experience. They tried tricking me into joining and spent the whole week trying to recruit me, but no, it’s in the past now,” he says, with a laugh.
He spends his time focusing on his classes — from his major-related classes to electives like game design — and the MIT International Students Association.
He says the organization is currently not very active, but it has been a source of important friendships.
“Sometimes we would meet new people, but oftentimes we would just meet up with friends at the meetings that we haven’t seen for a long time,” Chudik says. “The international community is not so big here, so we kind of all know each other.”
When Chudik first moved to Boston, he didn’t know of anyone else from Slovakia — not even students from other universities. He says that when he studied in Slovakia, it was rare for people to apply to colleges in the United States. He had to slowly convince his family to let him study so far away. But once he got into MIT and received his financial assistance, his family was overjoyed.
Chudik grew up with a large extended family who would come over regularly for dinner. He knew he would be saying goodbye to that sense of community when he came to Boston. But Chudik received MIT’s Kate and Gordon B. Baty Scholarship, and the family responsible for the scholarship made him feel at home. The family hosts lunches two to three times a year and has a Thanksgiving dinner for all the students in the scholarship program.
“They’ve become my second family here. They’re like grandparents that I’ve never had,” he says. “They’re so great.”
Chudik has adjusted to Boston and has made this “very European-like” city his home. Because he found his way around an American university, he now mentors high school students in Slovakia and helps them navigate the college application process.
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‘Queen of Katwe’ star Nikita Pearl Waligwa Dies at 15
Nikita Pearl Waligwa, the 15-year-old who starred in Disney’s Queen of Katwe, died tragically Sunday of a brain tumor.
According to Uganda’s Daily Monitor, the young actress was diagnosed with the tumor in 2016 as she took on the role of Gloria in Katwe. It was a movie based on the life of Phiona Mutesi who started playing chess at nine despite living in the Ugandan slum of Katwe and not being in school. She ultimately competed in international tournaments and won. Waligwa was cast as Gloria, the daughter of Lupita Nyong’o’s character, and she explained chess to her friend Phiona, helping her become a champion.
READ MORE: Trailer released for Lupita Nyong’o’s new movie ‘Queen of Katwe’
Mira Nair, director of Queen of Katwe, was said to have tried to get funding for treatment in India for Waligwa as there was not the necessary equipment in Uganda. In 2017, the teenager recovered and was given a clean bill of health but another tumor was found last year.
Waligwa was a senior at Gayaza High School at the time of her death. The oldest girl’s school in Uganda paid tribute to the fallen star.
“Fare thee well Nikita Pearl Waligwa. You were a darling to many and we have lost you to brain tumor at such a tender age. Nikita was in S.3. Rest in Perfect Peace dear,” the school tweeted.
Fare thee well Nikita Pearl Waligwa. You were a darling to many and we have lost you to brain tumor at such a tender age. Nikita was in S.3. Rest in Perfect Peace dear pic.twitter.com/ny8I9YAjsQ
— Gayaza High School (@gayazahigh) February 16, 2020
READ MORE: ‘I would never’: Issa Rae shuts down rumors she’s remaking ‘Set It Off’
David Oyelowo, who played her chess teacher in Katwe, fondly remembered her on social media. He described her as a “light” and described being humbled as she fought her illness.
“We mourn the loss of our beautiful Nikita Pearl Waligwa. She was a ball of light in @queenofkatwemovie and in life. Her battle with a brain tumor was humbling to witness. Her light will live on. 💔#rip,” Oyelowo captioned the post.
Rest In Peace.
The post ‘Queen of Katwe’ star Nikita Pearl Waligwa Dies at 15 appeared first on TheGrio.
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Dwyane Wade says telling Gabrielle Union about break up baby was the ‘hardest thing’
A promo for an upcoming documentary unearthed details of how Dwyane Wade had to break it to Gabrielle Union years ago that he had fathered a child while the couple was briefly separated.
“Hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is man up and tell Gabrielle Union that I’ve had a child with somebody else,” Wade says in ESPN’s “D. Wade: Life Unexpected” airing on February 23.
READ MORE: Dwyane Wade is proud of his child Zaya and wants her to ‘be her best self’
“When you hold something in that you know is going to come out and you have this information and you know it’s gonna f— somebody’s life up, that you care about, that you love, if it don’t hurt you, then you’re not human,” Wade added, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. “… Me and Gab just went through something that you never want to go through and we still came out of it.”
Wade and Union began dating in 2008 and broke up briefly in 2013 which is when he fathered a son, Xavier, now 6, with Aja Metoyer. The pair announced their engagement later in 2013, and in a press conference before a game in December of that year, according to Yahoo!, he told reporters of the baby: “I had a time, a part in our break, in our pain and our hurt, a blessing came out of it in my life, having a son that was born healthy.”
READ MORE: Dwyane Wade backs Gabrielle Union after she exits ‘America’s Got Talent’ over reported racial issues
Wade also has a son, Zaire, 18, and daughter Zaya, 12, from his previous marriage to Siohvaughn Funches. The NBA legend is also guardian to and the guardian to nephew Dahveon, 18. Wade recently opened up to Ellen DeGeneres about how he and his family are supporting Zaya who is transgender. He and Union share daughter Kaavia born in 2018. Wade retired from the NBA after the 2018-19 season after 16 seasons which included three championships. He pointed to his expanding family as one of the reasons he was walking away.
Wade has since begun working as a studio analyst for TNT, and on Saturday he was a judge in the All-Star Weekend dunk contest in his hometown of Chicago.
The post Dwyane Wade says telling Gabrielle Union about break up baby was the ‘hardest thing’ appeared first on TheGrio.
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Black swimmer suing police after being handcuffed and gun pointed at head
The only Black member of a college swimming team, Jaylan Butler, was also the only member to be accosted by police, handcuffed, forced to the ground with a gun pointed at his head and ordered not to move.
Butler, of Eastern Illinois University, filed the suit in federal court in January with the help of the ACLU, which contends that six officers from three different departments refused to let Butler go even when his teammates and coaches told them that he was with them and had done nothing wrong.
Jaylan Butler was unlawfully arrested by a group of Illinois law enforcement officers who pinned him face down on the snowy ground and pointed their guns at him—all without justification. We are suing in federal court: https://t.co/akc4gnB2Xf pic.twitter.com/cDF0asPWVd
— ACLU of Illinois (@ACLUofIL) February 12, 2020
The police claimed at the time that they were looking for a suspect, according to NBC News. However, the suit alleges that the officers still refused to let Butler go even after he provided ID. The suit also claims that the police also did not document the arrest.
READ MORE: Mother sues Franklin County Board of Education for racial discrimination
The incident on February 24, 2019, began when the team made a rest stop in East Moline, Ill., on the way back from a tournament. Like his teammates, Butler got off the bus, went to take a selfie near a road sign, and was returning to the bus when several cars pulled up and officers got out with guns drawn.
According to the suit, the police shouted at Butler to put his hands up, and he did without resisting. The police then cuffed him and forced him to the ground with two officers pinning him down and another pointing a gun at his head, saying, “If you keep moving, I’m going to blow your f—— head off.’’
“I felt numb. I didn’t really know what to expect,” Butler said of his thoughts as his ordeal went on.
READ MORE: Illinois High school responds after graduates are caught on video screaming ugly racist language
Even after they were told Butler was with the team, police still refused to release him, putting him in the squad car.
Eventually, the officers removed the handcuffs and asked Butler to get his ID from the bus. After he showed them his identification, they told him he was free to go.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called for a “thorough and transparent investigation” into the incident, posting on his Facebook page: “It’s unacceptable for any young person to feel unsafe and disrespected anywhere in this state — but every day, too many young people of color live through it.”
I’m deeply troubled by what I’ve read about how Jaylan Butler, an African-American athlete at EIU, was mistreated by law enforcement in East Moline. pic.twitter.com/8L78tZUOtF
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) February 14, 2020
Butler told NBC of his feelings since the incident: “I’ve been OK … in the past, when bad things happened to me I tried to see the good but this started to eat at me.”
The post Black swimmer suing police after being handcuffed and gun pointed at head appeared first on TheGrio.
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NBA honors Kobe Bryant by renaming All-Star MVP trophy after him
The NBA will hold its 69th All-Star Game Sunday in Chicago and for the first time, its Most Valuable Player Trophy will carry the name of Kobe Bryant who tragically died three weeks ago.
The winner of the award in Sunday’s game will receive the Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP Trophy, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced Saturday.
“We are renaming our All-Star MVP trophy the Kobe Bryant MVP award.”
Adam Silver announces the NBA’s decision to rename the All-Star Game MVP award to honor Kobe Bryant. pic.twitter.com/HuJgjopFbw
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) February 16, 2020
READ MORE: Vanessa Bryant changes name of Kobe’s foundation to honor her late daughter Gianna
“To all of us, it seemed like the appropriate way to bring honor to him,” Silver said, according to ESPN, at the annual state-of-the-league press conference the night before the game at Chicago’s United Center. It was fitting, he added because Bryant holds the record for consecutive All-Star appearances at 18 and is tied for the most MVP awards with four. In his first All-Star appearance in 1998, he was the youngest-ever player in the midseason showcase.
Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash on January 26.
The naming of the MVP award in his honor is only one of several ways the NBA honored Bryant at its All-Star Weekend festivities. On Friday, he was one of eight nominees selected as finalists for the Basketball Hall of Fame, with the final vote coming in April. Bryant was a sure thing to be inducted in his first year of eligibility. Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett were also named finalists in their first year eligible.
READ MORE: Charles Barkley says Kobe Bryant’s NBA career and rape case are both part of legacy
Said Jerry Colangelo, chairman of the Hall of Fame, according to NBA.com: “Because of the enormity, even before Kobe’s death, we think Kobe and Duncan and Garnett bring to (this) … we’ve never had a class that strong at the top. And then with Kobe’s death, it added more focus.”
Also, in honor of both of Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, the league changed the All-Star jerseys this year so that Team LeBron is wearing No. 24 in honor of Bryant and Team Giannis is wearing No. 2 to honor Gianna.
And in Saturday night’s dunk contest, Dwight Howard — once a teammate of Bryant with the Lakers, once a competitor in the 2009 NBA Finals, and now a Lakers player — wore a Superman cape reminiscent of his previous dunk contest victory. The one difference was that his outfit had Bryant’s uniform number 24 on the front where the “S” would be.
The post NBA honors Kobe Bryant by renaming All-Star MVP trophy after him appeared first on TheGrio.
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Congressman John Lewis to Receive NAACP Chairman’s Award at the 51st NAACP Image Awards
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has announced that U.S. Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis (D-GA), is going to receive the prestigious NAACP Chairman’s Award at this year’s 51st NAACP Image Awards.
Past honorees of the Chairman’s Award have included Tyler Perry, Senator Barack Obama, Former Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, Ruby Dee, The Neville Brothers, Bono, Danny Glover, and Congresswoman Maxine Waters. The Chairman’s Award is given to individuals who demonstrate exemplary public service and use their distinct platforms to create agents of change.
“Congressman John Lewis is a modern hero in American history, and we’re proud to give him this award,” said Chairman Leon Russell in a press release. “In an age where our voting rights are under attack like never before, we’re honored to elevate a civil rights hero who has dedicated his life to protecting our constitutional rights, fighting injustice and speaking truth to power.”
Congressman John Lewis is receiving the honor based on his lifelong dedication to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls “The Beloved Community” in America.
The show and honor will air live on BET on Saturday, February 22, 2020, from Pasadena, California. NAACP Five-Time Image Award recipient Anthony Anderson of ABC’s Black-ish is returning as host of the 51st NAACP Image Awards. This upcoming special will be Anderson‘s 7th consecutive year in the role. Anderson is an Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor and is currently the star and Executive Producer of ABC’s five-time NAACP Image Award Winner for Outstanding Comedy Series, Black-ish.
As previously announced, global music superstar and fashion icon, business entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Rihanna, will receive the prestigious President’s Award at the ceremony.
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas at naacp.org.
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Morehouse College Becomes First HBCU To Have A Polo Team
The Morehouse College Polo Club has been officially declared a member of the United States Polo Association, an esteemed honor that makes the school the first historically black college and university (HBCU) to embrace a polo team.
The Morehouse club was co-founded in 2019 by Miguel Wilson, founder of Ride to the Olympics Foundation, with Morehouse students Rian Toussaint, Justin Wynn, and Caleb Cherry as its first members according to The Washington Informer. “We would like to officially welcome Morehouse College to the family! Morehouse will be playing out of the Atlanta Regional Polo Center with Jolie Liston and Frankie Questel,” Amy Fraser, director of Intercollegiate/Interscholastic Polo, said in a letter addressed to Morehouse.
The idea originated from Cherry’s polo coach, who suggested that he start a team at Morehouse. Cherry competed in dressage for 10 years before and started playing polo five years ago. He is the only player on the team with prior experience with horses, according to Atlanta Daily World.
Through Ride to the Olympics, the students received scholarships that support their membership of the Morehouse Polo Club, giving them access to horses, riding lessons, and appropriate gear and allowing them to compete against other polo teams, both domestic and international.
Established in 2017, Ride to the Olympics’ primary mission is to empower youth who aren’t exactly born with great means with the opportunity to learn the art of equestrian sports, fashion, and leadership development. The program is also committed to increasing awareness and exposure to horse-related sports such as polo, showjumping, and dressage throughout the country.
Last September, Wilson’s foundation raised additional funds for the team through its annual Atlanta Fashion & Polo Classic event, where high-profile Atlantans and celebrities attended to support the Morehouse Polo Club.
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Tiger Woods Considering Joining New Premier Golf League
There is a new, proposed golf league being formed and after being approached by them, Tiger Woods is thinking about playing in it, according to ESPN.
The Premier Golf League is proposing an 18-event tour from January to September. Each event would be 54 holes and have no cuts. The weekly $10 million in prize money would appeal to a 48-player field before a season-ending championship. The total prize fund for the tournament will be $240 million. The tour would probably have an impact on the PGA Tour and European Tour if it the league materializes.
“My team’s been aware of it and we’ve delved into the details of it and are trying to figure it out just like everyone else,” Woods said Tuesday at Riviera Country Club, where he is hosting a tournament. “We’ve been down this road before with World Golf Championships and other events being started. There’s a lot of information that we’re still looking at and whether it’s reality or not, but just like everybody else, we’re looking into it.”
As expected, there is a slight pushback from the PGA Tour organizers. In late January, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan warned players that competing in the Premier Golf League could lead to disciplinary measures and loss of eligibility with the Tour. “If the Team Golf Concept or another iteration of this structure becomes a reality in 2022 or at any time before or after,” Monahan said in an email, “our members will have to decide whether they want to continue to be a member of the PGA Tour or play on a new series.”
Woods also added, “I think that just like all events, you’re trying to get the top players to play more collectively. It’s one of the reasons why we instituted the World Golf Championships, because we were only getting together five times a year, the four majors and The Players, and we wanted to showcase the top players on more than just those occasions. We came up with the World Golf Championships and we’re meeting more often.
“So this is a natural evolution, whether or not things like this are going to happen, but ideas like this are going to happen going forward, whether it’s now or any other time in the future.’’
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