Ice Cube: Another Successful Uop Student July 4, 2009
Posted by admin in : Famous UoP Students , add a commentO’Shea Jackson a.k.a Ice Cube was born in 1969 in California. He discovered his love for music in 1985, when he was 16. He graduated from William Howard Taft High School soon after. He took up Architectural Drafting at the University of Phoenix.
From time to time, Ice Cube took part in a number of small concerts along with Sir Jinx.
The NWA
Ice Cube formed a group in collaboration with Dr.Dre which they named Niggaz With Attitude. (NWA). With the help of Eazy-E, they tried to join HBO but were rejected.
In 1988, NWA released their first album titled “Straight Outta Compton”. Even though it was widely appreciated by a number of people, the album was banned by the media due to its songs that had hardcore lyrics. They entered into a number of controversies due to the same reason. The FBI let them go, but with a severe warning.
Conflicts:
Even though NWA attracted a lot of attention, albeit negative attention and was known to be the most infamous hip hop band, Ice Cube went his own way in 1989 due to internal conflicts. The reasons were never made public but according to the buzz at the time, it was a financial dispute.
Solo Career:
After leave the group, Ice Cube embarked upon a solo career in 1990 and released his first album titled “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted”. The album was an instant hit and was certified gold almost immediately after its release. Even though the success was abundant, his lyrics were greatly frowned upon by a number of people. Despite this minor controversy, his debut album was considered to be record-breaking classic with the genre of hip hop. It not only helped Ice Cube establish his own name, but he also earned a lot of respect as a solo artist.
Towards the end of the year 1990, he released his next album titled “Kill at Will”. Soon after, Ice Cube starred in his first film titled “Boyz ‘n the Hood”.
A year later, Ice Cube released his next album titled “Death Certificate”. Due to this album, Ice Cube entered into more controversies as “No Vaseline”’s spiteful lyrics were aimed at Jerry Heller, NWA’s manager and “Black Korea” primarily revolved around racism. However, the album earned the number 2 spot on the Billboard charts and was certified platinum.
Soon after, Ice Cube released his next album titled “The Predator”. This album did remarkably well on the Billboard charts as it bagged the number 1 spot on the R&B charts along with the pop charts.
Decline:
Ice Cube slowly began to lose popularity. Dr.Dre was at the peak of his popularity at this time which created a lot of competition between the two artists.
Despite this, in 1993, Ice Cube released “Lethal Injection”. The album bagged the number 5 spot on the billboard charts and was certified platinum. However, despite its success, the public did not appreciate Ice Cube’s new sound. As a result, this was Ice Cube’s final album.
Conclusion:
In 1994, he starred in a film titled “Higher Learning” along with another movie titled “Friday” for which he wrote the screenplay.
Soon after, he formed a group titled “Westside Connection” in collaboration with WC and Mack 10 .They released their first album titled “Bow Down”. This album was extremely appreciated by the audience and was certified gold.
Ice Cube further pursued his acting career and starred in “Anaconda” in 1997. A year later, he released “War & Peace: Vol.1” which was much awaited by a number of fans. In 1999, he released “The Peace Disc” which was the sequel to the previous album.
In 2006, his comeback album as a solo artist was titled “Laugh Now, Cry Later which went gold in the United States of America.
Mary E. Peters: Successful Uop Grad June 27, 2009
Posted by admin in : Famous UoP Students , 1 comment so farMary E.Peters was born in 1948. She was born in Phoenix, Arizona. She held the post of United States Secretary of Transportation from the year 2006 to 2009. That being said, she is first Arizonian and the second woman who has held this post.
She completed her undergraduate degree from the University of Phoenix. Apart from that, she was also a part of University of Bridgeport as she was part of an education program.
Before she joined President Bush, Peters was a part of HDR Inc. which was a well-known engineering firm.
Public Service:
Mary E.Peters became a part of the Arizona Department of Transportation during the year 1985 and was asked to be its director in 1998, courtesy Jane Dee Hull. In 2001, George W. Bush was elected President and the same year, Peters arrived at Washington and took up the post of the Federal Highway Administration. She worked at this post for 4 years, that is, from 2001 to 2005. Peters was appointed as Co-Vice Chairwoman of the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission in 2006, courtesy, President Bush. However, soon after, she gave up her post of SECDOT due to the upcoming administration of Barrack Obama. Ray LaHood took up this post in 2009.
Speculation:
There was speculation during the year 2005, according to which, Mary E.Peters was running for governor for the year 2006. She agreed that she was not only considering it but also thought herself to be a strong candidate. Even though she had resided in Virginia and was also registered to vote there, she had been passed off as being eligible for the above mentioned post. However, she decided not to run for governor as she felt that the issue at hand would have been an unwelcome interruption from the ongoing race. According to sources, she is considering the post of governor of Arizona for the year 2010.
Transportation Secretary:
Mary E.Peters was considered for the post of Secretary of Transportation by Bush in 2006. She was to succeed Norman Mineta. Mary E.Peters took up the post of Transportation Secretary in September 2006. This position was granted to her by Joshua Bolten who was the White House Chief of Staff.
Mary E.Peters was an important part of the administration that helped form a number of public policies for the transportation program.
Mary E.Peter’s Policies:
Peters is an avid supporter of leasing out roads to private companies and charging tolls for the purpose of building new highways. In an exclusive interview, Peters claimed that the National Highway System would soon run out of money without any considerable changes. She went on to say that instead of charging high taxes, majority of the states should consider toll roads that are rented out to private companies for the purpose of filling monetary deficits. Mary E.Peters also greatly supported the use of newer technologies for the purpose of reducing manual labor as well as the construction time period. Alongside, she also wished to reduce taxpayer payment. She also supported the construction of safer and sturdier roads. The same held true for highways.
Her other policies include that of supporting open borders for the purpose of trade. However, she faced avid opposition from a number of labor unions. According to the press conference in 2008, Mary Peters reported that payments including that of Arizona as well as the Highway Trust Fund would be substantially reduced due to the dropping of federal fuel tax collections. This development led to a significant postponement of a number of projects in the offing, including that of Arizona Department of Transportation.
Lisa Leslie: Famous UoP Graduate June 20, 2009
Posted by admin in : Famous UoP Students , add a commentLisa Leslie was born on July 7th, 1972 in California. Her mother lead a truck driving business and her father went his own way before Lisa was born. Tiffany and Dionne are Lisa’s two sisters.
When she was 13, she was asked to become a part of the basketball team in her junior high school. Being a left hander, she felt side-lined and taught herself how to play with her right hand which resulted in her becoming ambidextrous.
At 14, universities like Stanford University contacted her, asking her to join them.
She created a lot of ripples in high school wherein she won a number of championships for the school.
College and University of Phoenix:
Lisa got enrolled in University of Southern California for her undergraduate’s degree. She graduated in 1994. Soon after, she became a part of the University of Phoenix alumni for the purpose of getting a post graduation degree in business administration.
During her college years, Lisa’s basketball career was on fire. She played in about 120 games during which she scored at least 20 points, hut at least 54% of all her shots and knocked down at least 70% of all her free throws. She broke a number of records with reference to scoring, blocked shots as well as rebounding. She was awarded the Rookie of the year award and also the best female basketball player’s award during the 1990s.
The Women’s National Basketball Association:
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) began in the year 1997 and Lisa joined the Los Angeles Sparks Team soon after. In 2001, the team won the WNBA title. In 2003, she scored over 2500 career points and achieved the title of being the first WNBA player to do so. During the same year, she was part of the reason why the Los Angeles Sparks Team won a world championship. In 2005, she broke her own record and passed the 4000 career points mark and again, became the first player to do so. A brief summary of her WNBA awards over the years: She won the MVP during 2001, 2004 and 2006, the WNBA titles in 2001 and 2002, the Finals MVP in 2001 and 2002 as well, All-WNBA First Team in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002,2003,2004 and 2006. The All-WNBA Second Team in 1998, 1999 and 2005, the All-Star Game MVP in 1999, 2001 and 2002. All Star Games in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. All Decade Team from 1997 to 2006, Defensive Player of The Year in 2004 and 2008, All Defensive First Team in 2006, All Defensive Second Team in 2005 and she won Player of The Week for 14 years in a row, setting the league record.
Olympic Career:
In 1992 during the USA Olympic Trials, Lisa was the youngest person to take part. During her four Olympic appearances, Lisa Leslie has won four gold medals, becoming the first female basketball player to do so. Lisa won gold medals during her appearances with the United States national women’s basketball team in 1996 and 2000. In 2000, Lauren Jackson pulled out her hair extensions after which there developed a severe rivalry between the two.
Additional Information:
Lisa took sometime off from basketball in order to start a family in 2007. After giving birth to a baby girl during the same year, she decided to go back to basketball in 2008.
Apart from playing basketball, Lisa is also a model and is a part of the Wilhelmina modeling agency. She is also an actress and has made a number of guest appearances in “Sister Sister” and “The Jersey”.
Hunter Tylo: Famous UoP Student May 8, 2009
Posted by admin in : Famous UoP Students , add a commentHunter Tylo was born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1962. She has been working on the popular soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” as Taylor Forrester for over 18 years. She was born in Texas to Ko Anne and Morris Jabez Hunter. Elizabeth Tylo and Cliff Tylo are her two siblings. She is also often credited by the name of Deborah Morehart. She is currently pursuing a degree at the University of Phoenix.
Soap Opera Career
Hunter Tylo started her television career in 1985 with “All My Children”. On the sets of this popular television show, she met Michael Tylo who she went on to marry in 1987. She left the show the same year. She was offered the role for Marina Toscano on the popular day time television show “Days of our Lives”. She took this offer and was a part of “Days of our Lives” from the year 1989 to 1990.
Soon after, she was offered the role of Dr.Taylor Hayes in the popular soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful”. She was part of the show for over 10 years, from the year 1990 to 2002. However, she was asked to return for two episodes in 2004 and came back full-time in 2005.
Controversies:
Tylo was offered a role in the popular television show “Melrose Place” in 1996 for which she left “The Bold and the Beautiful”. However, soon after, she received the news that she was expecting her first baby. Aaron Spelling, the producer of “Melrose Place” fired Hunter Tylo before filming was initiated.
Enraged, Hunter Tylo was able to get her role back as Dr.Taylor Hayes on “The Bold and the Beautiful”. Soon after, she sued Aaron Spelling on grounds of discrimination. She won the trial.
Marriage and children:
Hunter Tylo’s first marriage was to Tom Morehart. She gave birth to a baby boy Christopher Morehart soon after the marriage. However, the marriage did not work out and Hunter married Michael Tylo in 1987. She had three children with Michael, namely, Izabella Gabrielle, Michael Tylo Jr. and Katya Ariel Tylo. Katya Ariel Tylo was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer. Sadly, her eye had to be removed. Katya wears a prosthetic eye on the right side.
Hunter and Michael Tylo went their separate ways in 2005.
In 2007, Michael Tylo Jr., drowned in a swimming pool in Nevada. In 2008, Tylo’s boyfriend Corey Cofield was charged with assault against Tylo and her children. However, a few months later, Tylo withdrew the order as she said he was undergoing aggressive therapy.
Some Interesting Trivia:
Hunter Tylo was featured in an article titled “50 most beautiful people in the world” by People Magazine in the year 1998. Tylo severely injured her collarbone during the shooting of the 1994 film “The Maharaja’s Daughter”
Tylo’s pets include a boa constrictor who she named BJ along with other exotic reptiles.
She shares her birthday with Tom Cruise and Thoman Gibson. She took part in a number of beauty pageants such as ‘Miss Teenage Fort Worth’ and ‘Miss Springtown’ among others. Tylo owns a cosmetic line, Chosen. She wrote an autobiography in 2001 which she titled “Making a Miracle”. She owns her own charity which she calls “Hunter’s Chosen Child”.
She is 45% Cherokee Indian as her mother is Cherokee Indian. She graduated from Springtown High in 1980. She also has a medical degree from Fordham University at New York City. Her return to “The Bold and the Beautiful” in 2005 was highly secretive and in order to make sure that the media did not come to know about it, the crew would have to sneak her onto the sets as well as off the sets.
