Jan. 20, 2004

Three to Receive MLK Awards

Ceremony Set for Jan. 22

By Thomas Kohout

GW’s Multicultural Student Services Center (MSSC) will present graduate student Nikki Finch, and undergraduates Brandy Kelly and Isaiah Pickens with the 18th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. awards Jan. 22 at 7 pm in the Marvin Center’s Cafritz Conference Center Ballroom, as a tribute to the legacy of the slain civil rights activist.

“The Martin Luther King, Jr. Award is one of the University’s most highly honored prizes,” said Michael Tapscott, director of the MSSC.

Candidates for the award are nominated anonymously by faculty or staff members, and the winners are chosen by a selection committee of GW faculty, staff and past award recipients. Finch, Kelly and Pickens were selected from a pool of 14 candidates because the committee felt their efforts in the community, as well as in the classroom, best reflected the ideals of King.

“We were fortunate to have such a strong pool [of candidates for the award], and it was nice to have such a large and fairly diverse committee to select the winners,” said Tapscott. “That was not an easy task; some of the nominees’ applications were incredible.”

The annual celebration, which began in 1986, serves as the MSSC’s culminating event. The week-long tribute began with a prayer breakfast organized by the Black Student Union Jan. 18. On Monday, Jan. 19, members of the GW community participated in a day of service at the Benning Terrace community in Washington. Among the projects that volunteers undertook were painting murals and apartments, hosting community workshops and teaching crafts in “King’s Corner” for the neighborhood children.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. award ceremony is free and open to the public. For more information about the ceremony please contact the MSSC at 994-7010, E-mail msscares@gwu.edu or visit gwired.gwu.edu/mssc/.

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