Kashka Johnson (left) and his father Ernest Walton at Gary NAACP banquet in June

Kashka does it again

Contributed By:The 411 News

Although he’s deaf and needs an interpreter to communicate in sign language for him, Kashka Johnson, the West Side Leadership Academy senior whose second place win at the Calumet Regional Science Fair in March was the first and only science fair competition he had ever entered, has added another notch to his collection.

Johnson won gold at the NAACP’s 37th annual ACT-SO (Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics) Competition held during the civil rights organization’s national convention, July 11-15 in Philadelphia. He competed in the science category where his physics project focused on redesigning helicopter blades.

Dr. Cheryl L. Pruitt, the superintendent of Gary’s public schools said she is very pleased that Kashka’s work continues to be recognized and calls the ACT-SO experience priceless. “I am especially proud of Kashka; I believe he gave the judges an “ah-hah” moment. He is an example of what perseverance, effort, and talent can yield. If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Kashka’s favorite subject is math and he also likes to draw. His science teacher at West Side Katherine Hedges, also a long-time sponsor of the Calumet Regional Science Fair told the Post-Tribune, “He struggles to read and write and lags behind other students in most classes … but not science.”

Hedges said Kashka’s project began in November 2014 with the testing of new helicopter blades using clays, plastics and other materials. He used air fans to test each blade. “Some worked, some didn’t. Nothing deterred him.”

In June, Kashka competed in the ISWEEP competition in Houston, TX. The Post-Tribune’s Jerry Davich featured Johnson and Hedges in his column and his readers responded with donations to help them and Giancarlo Leon, Kashka’s interpreter make the trip.

West Side Leadership Academy Principal Terrance Little said he attributes Kashka’s success to strong parental involvement and teachers that saw an interest and talent. “He will go a long way in life because he’s already on the right path for a bright future,” Little said. “His teachers push him because they know his potential; but Kashka pushes too because he wants to reach his academic goals. He’s a joy to have at West Side.”

Kashka’s page on Google Sites, created when he was a student at Lew Wallace gives us a glimpse of his life 2 years ago. He wrote, “When I graduate from college, I will get a job in a city pound. I like animals.” To illustrate that, he included a picture of a puppy.

Now, he can add engineer to that plan.

Story Posted:07/31/2015