ESU to Recognize Award Winners at 18th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast

Posted by: admin on January 8, 2015, No Comments

MLK-Artwork-First-Place
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania selected the winners for the 2015 MLK awards, the Julianna V. Bolt Art Contest and the Boddie Scholarship. The winners will be recognized at the 18th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Breakfast, which will be held on January 19 in the Mattioli Recreation Center on ESU’s campus from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Boddie Scholarship Recipients
The Gertrude Mary Smith Boddie Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to undergraduate students of color at ESU. In 1904 Ms. Boddie was the first African-American student to graduate from what was then known as East Stroudsburg State Normal School and ultimately became East Stroudsburg University in 1983.

The students who apply for this scholarship are asked to describe, in essay form, their commitment to social justice through community and university involvement.

The Gertrude Mary Smith Boddie Scholarship recipients are Raymond Ocasio, a senior majoring in biology from Allentown, Pa., Marisa Pagan-Figueroa, a senior majoring in English and Spanish with a minor in International Studies from Bethlehem, Pa. and Aalih Hussein, a senior majoring in social work and sociology with a minor in women’s studies from East Stroudsburg, Pa.

The three students are all involved at the university and in the local community. Ocasio plays football for the Warriors and has embraced being a part of a diverse team. “When you’re a football player your race doesn’t matter — each player has to play well in his position for the team to succeed,” he said.

While Ocasio’s involvement in the local community began in his freshman year of college, Pagan-Figueroa, a native of East Stroudsburg, has been involved in community service most of her life. Her first job was delivering newspapers for the Pocono Record. Since then, she has joined Student Senate, Campus Activities Board, the Spanish Club, Warrior Elite, Sigma Tau Delta and the Spanish Club. Like Pagan-Figueroa, Hussein is heavily involved on ESU’s campus. She is a member of the Muslim Student Association, Desi Student Organization, Feminist Alliance and Student Senate.

The three students will each receive a $2,113 scholarship award for the Spring 2015 semester.

MLK Award Recipients
The MLK award recipients exemplify characteristics of Dr. King’s philosophy of non-violence, equality, justice, cultural diversity and respect for humanity. One student candidate and two candidates from the community will be awarded.

Sarah Batool Khan, a graduate student studying professional and secondary education, will receive the East Stroudsburg University Student Award. Khan will complete student teaching at JTL Intermediate School and Stroudsburg High School during the spring semester. She is an elected senator in both Student Senate and University Senate and is a member of the Graduate Advisory Council and the Student Faculty Conduct Board. Khan dreams to open an all-girls school in rural Pakistan post her graduation from ESU.

Like Khan, Community Member Award recipient Faith Waters Kimes, Ed.D., spent a lot of her time on ESU’s campus. Kimes came to ESU’s department of professional and secondary education in 1989 after serving as principal of Pocono Mountain High School. She was co-founder and co-director of ESU’s Center for Teaching and Learning and spent most of her life engrossed in the betterment of education.

The second Community Member Award recipient, Kevin Hughes, took the business route post earning his MBA from Temple University. In his lifetime, Hughes was a businessman at the Hughes Printing Company and later an entrepreneur. Currently, he spends his time focused on “improving the quality of life of Monroe County citizens through the Dale and Frances Hughes Foundation.”

Julianna V. Bolt Art Contest
There were 61 entries to the Julianna V. Bolt art contest this year. Kristan Lai of Pleasant Valley High School earned first place; Sierra Davis of Stroudsburg High School landed in second place; Shannon Simpson of Pleasant Valley High School received third place; and Zackery Rodriguez and Maggie Brower of East Stroudsburg High School North were awarded an honorable mention.

Reserve a Space Today
Reservations are now being accepted for the breakfast at a cost of $35 for faculty, staff and community members and $12 for students, with proceeds to benefit the Gertrude Mary Smith Boddie Scholarship Fund.David Crosby Jr., founder and lead pastor of Community Church in Tobyhanna, Pa. will be the keynote speaker for this event.

Breakfast organizers are also asking regional business organizations to consider becoming a sponsor of this community event.  For more information on sponsorship opportunities, call 570-422-7000.

For more information about the Celebration Breakfast or for special accommodations, contact Cornelia Sewell-Allen, director of multicultural affairs, at 570-422-3896 or email at csewell@esu.edu.