By Ivan Pereira
A stray bullet may have ended Kevin Miller’s short experience as a member of the Campus Magnet High School student body, but his presence will continue to grow right on the front lawn of the Cambria Heights school.
The slain 13-year-old’s family joined school teachers and elected officials Friday morning for a special tree planting ceremony in front of the school building at 207-01 116th Ave.
Kevin’s mother, Donna Greaves, was moved by the number of students from the Humanities and the Arts High School, one of the four schools inside Campus Magnet, who told her they were inspired by her son’s death to continue their studies.
“His legacy will live long with this school even though he was here for a short time. It’s clear he won’t be forgotten,” she said.
Humanities Principal Rosemarie O’Mard said she got the idea for planting the flowering cherry tree on the southeast corner of the school immediately after the boy was murdered.
Miller was shot Oct. 2 at the corner of Linden and Springfield boulevards, just a few blocks away from the school. The teen was on his way to a McDonald’s to get a bite to eat after classes were done that day when two groups of members of rival gangs were arguing on the other side of the street, investigators said.
The fighting got more serious and Nnonso Ekwegbalu, 16, of Springfield Gardens, a reputed member of the Crips, opened fire at his Bloods rivals, but the bullets missed their targets and hit Kevin, who was not part of any gang, and another bystander who survived, the Queens district attorney said.
Eventually, Ekwegbalu and fellow reputed Crips member Gregory Calas, 18, of St. Albans, were arrested and are awaiting trial on murder charges, according to the DA’s office.
O’Mard said students were shocked by the random violence that killed their new classmate and it has taken a lot of time for them to heal.
“They ran the gamut of emotions,” she said.
The principal said the tree would be the best way to symbolize a new beginning for Kevin’s family and classmates.
“This is an image of a new flower, of hope and inspiration,” she said.
The teenage students agreed and showed their condolences for their slain classmate in many ways during the ceremony. A choir sang two Michael Jackson songs in his memory, “Gone Too Soon” and “You Are Not Alone.”
Greaves was moved to tears when classmate Ronnie Brown recited, “With This Seed,” a poem he wrote in honor of Kevin:
“With this seed, the end result will be more than just a tree/More like an everlasting memory/That will branch out like the legs on a centipede/And when the wind blows you can hear him say, ‘Remember Me,’” he said.
Kevin’s mother has also taken steps to honor his memory and promote academics. The Kevin Lamont Miller Jr. Foundation will provide college scholarships to qualified high school students who attend Humanities or the New Jerusalem Baptist Church, the Jamaica church the boy and his family attended.
“It will allow someone else to continue on with his education and it would let someone else to live on,” she said.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
