On
Saturday evening,
April
26, 2008, The University of Toledo’s (UT) Minority Alumni
Affiliate hosted the 17th Annual Recognition of
Excellence Reception in the Student Union to honor
students and alumni who have been trailblazers within
their community as well as in their careers.
“How
do we continue to engage minority alumni for a purpose,
when we are only as strong as the members that are
engaged?” asked Master of Ceremony Greg Braylock,
president of The University of Toledo Minority Alumni
Affiliate.
“We
want alumni of all ages and classes, from age 48 to class
of 2008, to take an active role in the affiliate as we
help carry forth the mission of The University of Toledo
and work to prepare students for success so that they too
will one day be the outstanding community members,
professionals, leaders, and alumni that we need”
Braylock said that the affiliate is a paid membership
organization but nonetheless it is their actions and
accomplishments that make it a success. “The
University
of Toledo is not just an institution with walls and
classrooms but inside those walls and inside those
classrooms are students are young people and scholarship
recipients,” he said. “We have a strong agenda to push,
the agenda of UT, which is to educate and the agenda of
the minority affiliate which is to engage minority
students with our alumni.”
At
this year’s reception, the Minority Affiliate took a
rather unique but successful approach to their normally
traditional reception. The change of format was intended
to give more students and recent alumni the opportunity to
network and become more familiar with the nominated
awardees.
To
make this possible the previous sit-down style dinner was
replaced with an intimate welcome and cocktail hour, which
proved to be a crowd favorite. During this time students
had the opportunity to put a face to individuals who were
once in their shoes and more importantly sponsors had the
chance to personally congratulate the individuals whose
academic dreams and lifelong goals they have made a
reality.
“Growing up in an urban environment in the north end of
Toledo I was impacted to grow above what society would
show me, I want my life to be the best that I can make it
and that will make a difference in my community but also
prove the stereotypes wrong,” said Aretha Gilbert, a
freshmen at UT and one of the scholarship recipients. “My
environment is always going to be a part of my culture and
I will never forget where I came from because it helped
shape me in to who I am today.”
However, scholarship recipient Monique Long, who is a
sophomore majoring in health care administration, is
simply thankful to God that programs such as these exist
because she has already accomplished one of the many goals
that she has set for herself. “My goal was just to get to
college to show my community that it is possible and now
with college I desire more,” she said. “I will start a
Christian-based group home for battered women and
children. This scholarship is not only money for college
but an investment in a better community.”
Kevin
Beeler, a sophomore at UT with a 3.9 grade point average
(GPA) hopes he will be able to prove to the world and not
just his community that he is determined. In his
scholarship essay he spoke about how a combination of hard
work and dedication ultimately equals knowledge and
success.
Debra
Thomas, the only high school scholarship recipient, is a
graduating senior from Rogers High School and will attend
UT in the fall to study either marketing communications or
forensic science. One of her most recent goals was to
graduate from high school a year early and in a few short
weeks, Thomas will make that goal a reality.
Following the cocktail hour was a portion of the program
appropriately titled ‘conversations of excellence,’ which
was also a new addition to the program. Braylock stressed
that the importance of this 30-minute portion was to allow
those in attendance to engage in conversations pertaining
to excellence with this year’s four alumni awardees.
“During conversations of excellence, everyone will have
the opportunity to speak with the honored alumni about
their experiences at UT as a student, their experiences
within the community and in their profession,” said
Braylock.
In
past years, each alumni award recipient has been allotted
a certain amount of time during the program to speak about
how they arrived at their level of success in their
careers. However, this new addition created a relaxing
atmosphere that opened the door to candid conversation at
each of the four stations that were setup around the
reception area. Before the cocktail hour began, each
alumni honored was presented with their award and
recognized in brief for their outstanding achievements to
further jump start the session.
Educator Edrene Cole, received the posthumous award, which
recognizes alumni whom are dedicated members to the
minority affiliate and outstanding members within their
community. Due to her absence, her husband Eddie Cole
accepted the award in her behalf.
Joan Harris, Ireatha Hollie, James Jones and David Young
were the four alumni honorees who received praise for
being pillars of their community and innovators in their
careers. Harris has been an educator for over 20 years in
the Toledo Public School district and an active volunteer
with a multitude of programs within her community. She is
most known for her work on the Lathrop House restoration
committee, which helps preserve the legacy of the Lathrop
House and her service at her church Third Baptist.
Hollie is an ordained minister who is known for her work
in the medical field for the past 40 years as a
pharmacist. Through this course, Hollie has been
instrumental in bringing health care to the minority
community. “She was blessed to be a member of an
exceptional family who taught her both by word and deed to
leave things better than she found it,” said Hollie.
Jones is a lifetime member of the NAACP and employee of
the Beta Corporation. When he is not working, he enjoys
serving as associate minister at the Christian Temple
Baptist Church where his father is head minister.
“I really don’t have to read this paper because we go back
like frick and frat, like peanut butter and jelly and Tom
and Jerry,” joked Martino Harmon when introducing Young,
the final honoree. “But I want to make sure that I do him
justice by reading exactly a short version of his bio.”
Young is the interim director of the Office of EXCEL at
UT. He is the chairman of the policy committee on the
University’s Commission on Diversity and also serves on a
variety of other school and organizational boards
throughout the area. To feed his faith, Young serves on
the ministerial staff at New Life Church of God in Christ
(COGIC) as an ordained elder.
“Those of us that really had a commitment and a passion
for students needed to be directly involved,” said Young
“The students that are attending now are facing a whole
different set of challenges than I faced. I am glad to be
learning from them while they are also learning from me.”
After
the conversations of excellence, the program resumed by
recognizing those who helped make the event possible. In
attendance were representatives from UT’s Office of the
Dean of Students, Buckeye Cable System, The African
American Enrichment Office, The Office of Multicultural
Student Services and Paramount Health Care. Each year
Paramount along with Equilla Roach, the wife of former
educator Arthur Lee Roach, are responsible for awarding
one of the Affiliates most notable scholarships, which is
the Arthur Lee Roach scholarship.
“My
husband was a principal for many years and he prided
himself on doing community work and educating students and
youth in general,” said Roach. “I am just so honored,
that with the help of different organizations and
individuals we are able to continue what he loved.”
The
Arthur Lee Roach scholarship is awarded to an individual
who has professional goals in a health care field, in
addition to showing financial need, academic merit and
community involvement. This year’s scholarship recipient
was William Bidwell, whose goal is to become a pharmacist.
At the
close of the reception, Braylock encouraged all attendees
to ask themselves how they can retain their strong
traditions while also creating new ones. “By understanding
how important it is to be engaged with the same
institutions that have made you a success,” said Braylock.
“This reception is not simply about being a member but
about being a connector for someone else.”
