It was in the temperate air Tuesday at a festive ceremony at her South Side alma mater, Dunbar Vocational High School, and in the nose-numbing air at a plaque-bestowing ceremony outside the Chicago Theatre.

At Dunbar, Oscar statuette in tow and still aglow from her Best Supporting Actress win for "Dreamgirls," the heroine returned to her roots for some heartfelt hallelujahs. For many in the audience, Hudson's success offered a major life lesson.
"I don't sing much," said Dunbar student Nekeisha Anderson, a 17-year-old junior who studies small-business ownership, "but if I wanted to be a singer she'd be a great inspiration to me. I just feel like for us, going to a school like this, that we can make it. She's hope."

Senior singer and culinary student Jacques Edwards, 17, was unabashed in his appreciation of Hudson's talent. Nattily dressed in a shawl-lapeled tux and waiting in the wings near a dozen long-stem roses before Hudson's entrance, he said she inspired him to become "more of a performer." When Hudson sings, Edwards said, "I feel good. She's a powerhouse. ...I'm in amazement of her singing."
That amazement wasn't confined to students -- or just to Hudson's singing.

Standing along one side of the packed auditorium -- which teemed with teens wearing "Dreams Do Come True" T-shirts and was bedecked in all manner of handmade Hudson-themed decorations (banners, shimmering streamers, blown-up photos) -- English department chairwoman Lucy Kaplan was imbued with a similar can-do spirit.
"Many of these students, they all have talent, they all have some future ahead of them," Kaplan said. "She's here, she can show us that you can do it."

When Hudson finally made her way onstage, nearly 25 minutes tardy and following a raucous introduction by the school band, a exuberant roar arose from the crowd.
Immaculately tressed, wearing a form-flattering black dress and pumping her Oscar statuette in the air, she sat in a front row folding chair next to the mayor, his wife Maggie and several other VIPS, many of whom took turns singing her praises.

From Da Mare and Chicago radio personality "Crazy" Howard McGee to Dunbar Principal Barbara Hall, Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan, the day's main theme was hope, hard work and big dreams.
"Not all of you are going to win the Academy Award like Jennifer," Daley told his young audience, "but if you work hard and keep your eye on the prize, you can achieve your dreams just as Jennifer did."

He turned the microphone over to Hudson, who thanked her throng of faithful, gave a short pep talk and -- goaded by chants of "Sing! Sing! Sing!" -- delivered a few rousing gospel verses on a bad sound system.
"I just wanted to bring it here for you all to see," she said of her Oscar, which was propped on the podium, "because if you can see it, you can achieve it. Don't let nobody tell you what you can and cannot do! If you tell somebody a dream and they can't seem to understand it, it's only because they can't dream as big as you."

Source: http://www.msn.com
POSTED BY MIKE THOMAS


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