February 2006

GW Honors Four with 2006 MLK Award

Four GW students who best personify the values of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. received the University’s 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. Medals. A committee of GW staff, faculty, and students selected undergraduates Trinh Tran and Stephen Harris and graduate students Abby Charles and Lina Musayev, a GW Presidential Administrative Fellow and recipient of the 2005 Manatt-Trachtenberg Prize.

The Martin Luther King Jr. medal is conferred annually to selected GW students in celebration and recognition of the human values embodied in King’s commitment to integration, peace, nonviolence, conscience, personal integrity, and community.

The George Washington University saluted the student recipients of the 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. medal at convocation ceremonies in the Marvin Center Grand Ballroom, Jan. 26. The convocation featured performances by the GW gospel choir and Lori Williams and Friends, as well as remarks from Student Activities Center Assistant Director Grace Henry.

The ceremony followed a week of activities honoring King, as well as Rosa Parks who recently passed away. The Multicultural Student Services Center, which hosts the Martin Luther King Jr. convocation, hosted a birthday celebration and the exhibition “Experience the Life and Times of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: King Memorabilia Exhibit and Birthday Celebration.”

On Saturday, Jan. 21, students spent a “Day on, not a day off,” for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service sponsored by GW’s Office of Community Service.
Students volunteered at DC Central Kitchen, as well as at the Center for Creative Non-Violence, preparing food, reorganizing the facilities, cleaning, painting, and sorting donations.

“It was an amazing turnout,” said Andrea Essner, assistant program coordinator for outreach and volunteer programs in GW’s Office of Community Service. “Our limit was 200 volunteers and we had more than 180 students turn out.”
DC Central Kitchen, Inc. is a nonprofit community corporation that serves as a resource for area community kitchens.

The Center for Creative Non-Violence is a shelter serving homeless men, women, and children in the Washington, DC, community for more than 30 years, offering 1,350 beds to the area homeless community.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu