Dito Sakhokia, his parents and sister came to the United States four years ago from the country of Georgia.
“We were hoping for a better future and more opportunities,” he said.
Sakhokia and his family settled in Philadelphia, where they had family and friends, and he enrolled as a freshman at George Washington High School. He knew the “bare minimum” of English.
The teenager worked hard to learn the language, particularly in an effort to pursue his goals in the business world. He joined DECA Inc., a national career student organization.
In March, DECA named Sakhokia to its list of Emerging Leader Honor Award winners. The organization held a state public speaking competition in Hershey, and Sakhokia finished third among 25 participants. He also placed second in a Toastmasters-sponsored public speaking competition.
“It’s a great business program,” Sakhokia said of DECA.
Sakhokia, 18, graduated on May 31 with a 3.5 grade point average and is headed to Penn State Abington to pursue a career as an entrepreneur.
George Washington business education teacher and DECA adviser Sheryl Kirby was so impressed by her student’s accomplishments that she nominated him for the National Liberty Museum’s 19th annual TD Bank Young Heroes Awards.
Sakhokia was chosen as a winner, and he was honored last Thursday during a ceremony at the museum, 321 Chestnut St.
Besides his involvement with DECA, Sakhokia was a captain of the Washington wrestling team. He works at the Georgian Bakery & Cafe, 11749 Bustleton Ave.
Sakhokia was accepted to Temple’s marketing program, and even wore the university colors of red and black to the ceremony, but he’ll be trading those colors in for blue and white.
At Penn State, his plans are to study two years at Abington, then move to the main campus. He’ll major in business marketing and management.
After graduation, he wants to run a company that markets other businesses.
“I have a lot of ideas and goals for my business,” he said.
NBC 10’s Vai Sikahema was the emcee of the ceremony.
In all, there were 13 winners, who each received a medal and certificate. Awards were presented by TD Bank officials and National Liberty Museum CEO Gwen Borowsky.
A plaque featuring the stories of the winners will be displayed in the museum for a year.
Sakhokia, who lives on Hendrix Street in Somerton, was the only Philadelphian honored.
“It was an honor and a pleasure to be here,” he said. “It was a memorable day that will stay with me forever.”
The winner who traveled the farthest was 12-year-old Emma Chang, of Yorba Linda, California, who built three “kindness carts” to support the homeless, kids at risk and families in need.
Ranen Miao, 18, of Short Hills, New Jersey, was given the Spark Award for running nonpartisan voter registration drives for immigrants, lobbying to recognize Chinese New Year and Diwali as holidays and organizing a Day of Silence for LGBTQ+ students.
Tom Shoemaker, commercial market president for TD Bank, which has been the sponsor for 15 years, presented the President’s Honor Award to Manasi Soman, 17, of Hillsborough, New Jersey, who has led a worldwide effort to get more girls involved in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). She earned a $2,000 scholarship.
The keynote speaker was KC Miller, a 2017 Young Heroes Award winner who used his speech to condemn white nationalism, the placing of children in cages at the southern border and the tweets of a certain political leader whom he did not name, and to claim that there will be irreparable damage to the climate in 10 years if action isn’t taken.
A luncheon followed the ceremony. ••
