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Tuskegee Airmen will be guests at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Tuesday, Feb. 4, during a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration.
“Breaking Barriers: Building Blocks of the Dream” will begin with lunch at 11:30 a.m. in the Morris University Center Meridian Ballroom. As part of the luncheon celebration, two local high school students and an SIUE student will be recognized. The airmen, from the Hugh J. White Chapter in St. Louis, will speak at 12:30 p.m.
“We look forward to hearing from Tuskegee Airmen,” said Sarah Laux, director of civic engagement in the Kimmel Student Involvement Center. “It will be exciting to hear what they have to say about the changes they have witnessed in American society through the decades.”
A high school writing competition and visual arts competition are held annually in connection with the event. The students selected as winners are honored during the celebration.
Da’Vyne Moncure, a senior from Belleville West High School, is being honored with the visual arts award. Samantha Parish is the recipient of this year’s high school essay contest. Parish, of Godfrey, is a sophomore at Alton High School.
An SIUE student also is selected to receive the MLK Scholarship Award. The award comes with a plaque and a tuition waiver for a semester of study. The student is chosen based on recommendations, as well as a personal interview and essay expressing their commitment to the values and beliefs of King, and their future goals.
Emily Koester, a sophomore from Tolono, received the MLK Scholarship Award. Koester has a 4.0 grade point average. She is majoring in foreign language and literature with a focus in French, and is pursuing teacher certification.
“Each year, this event is held to celebrate Dr. King and his legacy of non-violent social change,” Laux said. “We are pleased to recognize the talent of this year’s winners in our annual essay and visual arts competitions, as well as our SIUE student scholarship recipient.”
Tickets to the luncheon are available for $15 for students and $20 for general admission. Reservations must be confirmed by Monday, Jan. 27.
For more information or to purchase tickets, call (618) 650-3210. Tickets also can be purchased online at http://outreach.siue.edu/mlk.html.
The event is part of SIUE’s “We are One; We are the E” campaign, which is a campus wide effort to promote diversity and inclusion.
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