Impossible Possibilities co-founder Joshua Hernandez presented to students on Friday, March 9, 2018, as part of the organization’s Maven’s Milestones (MM) reading achievement program.

MM is an incentive-based reading achievement program with more than 1,150 students at three Fort Worth ISD elementary schools. The program rewards students for reaching each of “Maven the Raven’s Milestones:” Ascent, Afterburner, Approach and Call Sign Maven. Each milestone represents a specific number of points that the students earn by reading books and passing online quizzes.

Hernandez met with fourth and fifth graders at Cesar Chavez, Washington Heights, and Van-Zandt Guinn elementary schools in Fort Worth. He showed the students pictures of the animals he photographed on his African safari to Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve. Established in 1961, the Marai Mara consists of 580 miles of wildlife sanctuary that connects to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The park is recognized for its annual wildebeest migration that occurs each August.

Hernandez discussed the importance of biodiversity and detailed various threatened and endangered animals, including African elephants and lions, giraffes, cheetahs, and black rhinos. He also focused on the growing number of endangered animals around the world and how their potential extinctions could impact the planet.

“I think this presentation really hit home for many of the students when they learned many of their favorite animals were threatened with extinction,” Hernandez said. “Unfortunately, at the current rate of decline, these students may never have the opportunity to see some of these amazing animals in the wild.”