STUDENTS HONORED AT MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BREAKFAST posted 1/21/03

At the 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at Adrian College on Jan. 20, two students were honored for their academic excellence, campus and community involvement, and commitment to diversity.

Area Underwood, a senior at Adrian College, and Lanetta Janet Williams, a junior at Siena Heights University, are the recipients of the 2003 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Student Service Awards. They received $500 scholarship and a plaque commemorating the honor. (Read their full biographies below.)

Also honored was Mrs. Geraldine Boykins, who received the Community Service Award for her varied involvement with such community groups as the East Side Coalition Committee and the Lenawee branch of the NAACP. Mrs. Norma Marks' third grade class at Morenci Elementary School was also recognized, for its winning submission to an essay contest that asked, "What does Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day mean to me/us?"

The annual breakfast celebrates the memory of Dr. King and featured Dr. Dorothy Harper Jones as the speaker. Dr. Jones is professor emeritus of social work at Michigan State University.

Area Underwood
Area Underwood, a native of Detroit, is a senior majoring in communication/argumentation and advocacy. She has been involved as a resident director, and as a member and president of African American Leaders Promoting Higher Education (A.L.P.H.A.). She is actively involved in programs and initiatives that benefit and raise cultural awareness. She has supported multicultural programs such as the African American Women Health Series, the A.L.P.H.A. Gift of Life Winter Ball and Holiday Blast for Kids for the Lenawee County Boys and Girls Club. She has participated with the Adrian College Gospel Choir and served on the AC diversity committee.

Nominatiors said that Area is very concerned about the issues that occur on campus involving diverse populations. She is a dedicated student who goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Lanetta Janet Williams
Lanetta Janet Williams is a junior at Siena Heights University, and is majoring in English communications with a minor in journalism. She is a member of the Ronald E. McNair Program, the Siena Heights African American Knowledge Association (SHAAKA), SHU women's track and field team, and is a member of the SHU judicial board. She is a volunteer at the Lenawee County Humane Society, is associate editor of Spectra (SHU newspaper), and is involved with SHAAKA in planning Black Stars on the Rise: The First Annual Gala in Honor of Black History Month.

Lanetta has demonstrated her ability to understand and communicate to readers of different ethnic groups and ages through several of her published articles. She has been published in Michigan Catholic Magazine, the Detroit Free Press, and Spectra.