Through KC org, late Cynthia Newsome inspired youths: ‘Her legacy will live on’
For years, Cynthia Newsome, who died Tuesday, invested in Awesome Ambitions, the Kansas City nonprofit she helped to found in 1997 to educate and inspire young Black and brown girls.
Thousands of girls throughout the Kansas City metro have gone through the program, which hosts events designed to push 8th-12th grade students in areas like college and career readiness, entrepreneurship, health and wellness and social justice.
“I saw a need and I wanted to do something myself, and make a difference,” she said in a video tribute posted Tuesday by KSHB 41, the TV station where she long worked as an anchor.
Those surrounding Awesome Ambitions mourned Newsome’s death Tuesday. Newsome had been public about a cancer diagnosis she had lived with in recent years.
“She will be deeply missed,” Awesome Ambitions said in a statement on Tuesday. “Her legacy will live on.”
“For 29 years, Cynthia dedicated her life to empowering girls, mentoring leaders and building a legacy of purpose, passion and possibility. Her vision, leadership and unwavering belief in young women changed countless lives and will continue to inspire generations to come.”
‘She was a real mentor’
Riyan Jones, who grew up in Kansas City and went through the program from 2019 to 2023, recalled a trip to Washington, D.C. with Awesome Ambitions where she learned about voting rights and social justice issues.
Jones is now a college senior at Fisk University in Nashville, where she is studying political science and sociology. Jones credits that trip with helping to hone her passion for those issues today. She’ll return to Washington this summer for an internship focused on policy and law.
“I don’t think I would have even thought about pursuing something like that if it wasn’t for her exposing me to it in the first place, so it’s a very full circle moment for me,” she said.
Many who have gone through the program have similar stories, she said.
“Even beyond me graduating high school, Miss Cynthia was still someone that I could reach out to if I needed support, and I did,” Jones said. “She would reach out with words of encouragement, just to check in to see how I was doing, and I would do the same, vice versa. It became a personal relationship outside of just the regular 8-12 that we would spend on Saturday. She was a real mentor.”
Victoria Rollins, who went through the program until she graduated high school in 2023, said Awesome Ambitions helped to introduce her to her current path working in the nonprofit world.
“She kind of set up that that path for me,“ Rollins said. “I saw a Black woman who was in this space, who was attempting to not only fulfill her own passion by doing what she loved as a newscaster, but on the side, she had this whole organization supporting Black girls and what they wanted to do, and telling them that, ‘This world can include you, and this is how.’”
In 2023, The Star followed along as the program introduced a group of girls to various careers in healthcare through hands-on activities at Research Medical Center.
They swaddled infant dolls, transferred patients between beds and explored labs at the facility. There, Jordan McGee, then 15, told The Star of her connection with Newsome, of how they bonded beyond the program, of how Newsome would call or text just to see how she was doing.
“They give advice on how to be confident in yourself and give tools for problem solving,” said Kairos Im, then 15. “The program prepares us for life in all aspects.”
This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 1:30 PM.
