User:Ebonycals

Wanda McKiver was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on February 9, 1970 to Priscilla McKiver and Ray McKiver, She is the youngest of five children. This super star was raised in a close community where they lived by the "It takes a village to raise a child" rule.

At only 7 years old asked by her father to purchase another book for her. His reply was, "write one" This bright lady started writing short stories from that day, having fallen in love with Nancy Drew books. She asked her second grade teacher if she could participate in the the first graders read-a-book program, and was chosen, thus starting a reading program during the 5th grade in middle school. When she was 13 years old Wanda McKiver was selected to become co-chief editor of the schools' newspaper.

In high school Wanda McKiver excelled in English, being selected for the one "advanced English" class due to her strong writing and language arts skills. In 1987 she would to leave High School to give birth and to care for her high school's sweethearts first daughter. In 1988 she would return to a local business school, (Betty Owens Secretarial Systems) to pursue a General Education Degree and Word Processing certificate. Although this shining beacon failed the GED exam she did gain a Word Processing certificate and was offered a position at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey. She would remain there for the next five years, working in the Contract Development and Coordination of Benefits Department, until the birth of her second and third child's birth.

She would later move on to work in New York City, first at Chase Manhattan Bank as an Audio Visual Coordinator and then at Goldman Sachs as a Corporate Trainer Assistant. While working at Goldman Sachs she developed a love and passion to learn and master daytime trading, Wanda McKiver did not stop there, she decided to return to Adult Night School to earn a High School Diploma. While earning a High School Diploma, she would often assist the instructor, grading papers and helping classmate with their writing assignments. Upon graduation she continued her education at Chubb Institute, gaining a diploma in Business Programming and Web Development. In 2003, she would write and co-write along with Dana Elaine Owens, their first stage production, having their three minor children act out each scene as new ones were being created. This would trigger a desire to write, books, stage productions, and screenplays, speeches, and quotes.

Influences

Ntozake Shange - playwright - "For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide" This was the first stage production she saw. She was 11 years old, the show was produced at a local school. It amazed her how simple words could cause such a physical reaction. Shange's words made her cry, tremble with fear, and clap in sheer happiness. Mrs. McKiver wanted to produce the same reactions in audiences of her own. She wanted to make women from all over the world feel beautiful, strong, complete.

Alice Walker - "The Color Purple" McKiver said, "the movie made my life colorful, it gave me hope, the soundtrack made my heart sing." Alice Walker demonstrates a enormous respect for the African American community, she seems to understand a time before her own and care about new generations to show them hard times as well as a means to overcome it....LOVE.

August Wilson - "Fences" playwright - Mr. Wilson wrote about the African American experience with such care, showing that although life was dark for most, obstacles can only get in the way when you allow it.

Lorraine Hansberry - "A Raisin in the Sun" Playwright - a talented writer who wrote with great respect for not only the art form of writing, but the African American family.

Bob Marley - song writer, musician, artist - Bob Marley understood like McKiver that the gift we posses is God given and must be shared.

Accomplishments

2007 -The Grandmas -produced, Jersey City, NJ - audience attendance 300 which quickly sold out. - a story of five generations of women living in the same household. The main character is Keesha, a teenage mom who has aspirations of being a doctor. She continues to stay motivated, working and striving to become successful in hopes of creating a promising future for her daughter.

2008 - The Meltdown - produced at Where Eagles Dare Theater, New York, NY

2011 - The Meltdown - produced at Roy Arias Theater, Times Square, New York, NY - February-September

2012 - At The Gate - produced at Lincoln High School to benefit the Cancer Society - 1150 seats Prose

2014 - The Journey Forward, Published by Wanda McKiver

2015 - The Meltdown Full Feature Film - Produced by The OME Group, Inc. Cinematography by Self Vision Studios

2015 - The Black Rose Diaries Full Feature Film - Produced by The OME Group, Inc. Cinematography by Self Vision Studios

Poetry- The Meltdown - which consist of 32 prose poems

Workshops

The Million Dollar Me - This workshop is for young ladies ages 12-18. It is intended to promote self-esteem, healthy coping skills as well as social issue awareness.

W.O.R.D – W.O.R.D is an acronym for Words Of Restoration and Deliverance. It is a ministry that is geared toward churches and religious groups. The purpose of this ministry is to raise funds for these organizations through faith based stage productions.

Motivational Speaking - http://teaneck.patch.com/articles/bfms-womens-day-encourages-girls-to-follow-any-career-path