Feb. 4, 2004

The Medal to Lead

University Selects Three for Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Award

By Thomas Kohout

The George Washington University community took a moment Jan. 22 to honor the contributions of three outstanding students whose efforts to achieve while helping others set and reach goals of their own best reflects the ideals embodied in the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The Multicultural Student Services Center, along with representatives from throughout GW, presented graduate student Nikki Finch, and undergraduates Brandy Kelly and Isaiah Pickens with the 18th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. awards.

In a poignant explanation of why we should give back to the community and pay tribute to the achievements of young people, President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg told the audience, “We can’t say thank you to our parents properly for all of the sacrifices they make on our behalf during their lifetime. So, in an effort to acknowledge those sacrifices, we try to do the same for the next generation. I can only hope, therefore, that our generation will strive to make the world a better place as if Martin Luther King had not been assassinated, as if he had lived with us and as if he were with us today.”

Finch is a second-year master’s student in GW’s public administration program, and the assistant program coordinator for outreach and volunteer programs in the Office of Community Service.

In her effort to put into words the impact King’s legacy had on her life, Finch said, “I know those brave men and women who boycotted the buses and sat in at the lunch counters, were fighting peacefully for rights that, had I lived during that time, would have already had. Yet with their victory it was not rights that I gain but my own freedom for a better future. I believe that ignorance enacted on anyone takes from all of us.”

Kelly is a senior in the Elliott School of International Affairs majoring in international affairs with concentrations in global public health and Africa with a minor in political science. She founded the Black International Affairs Society at GW, an organization geared toward expanding the curriculum on the African Diaspora and increasing the number of students of color who pursue international affairs. She also is an active member in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Black Student Union (BSU) and Word Up Bible Study student organizations. In addition she is an after-school tutor through the Heads Up program at Marie H. Reed Elementary School.

Pickens is a junior majoring in psychology, with a secondary field in business administration and a minor in theater. A native Washingtonian, Pickens exemplifies a life of service and scholastic achievement. Among his many honors, the graduate of the School Without Walls High School has earned both the Presidential Classroom and Stephen Joel Trachtenberg scholarships. In his three years, Pickens has served the GW community through his involvement in the Emerging Leaders Program, Colonial Cabinet (’02), the Diversity Affairs Commission of the Student Association, and was a walk on member of the GW basketball team. Currently he serves as the vice president for both the Undergraduate Student Policy Board of the Student Association and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Nu Beta Chapter — the fraternity of which King was a member.

Taking a “Day On”
An early highlight of the week-long celebration of the life and legacy of King took place on the Martin Luther King (MLK) Day holiday. More than 28 GW departments and student organizations were among the nearly 300 volunteers from 24 national and community organizations to lend their hands for a variety of projects at Benning Terrace, a DC Housing Authority property in the Potomac region. It marked the largest volunteer effort on MLK Day in GW’s history. Crews spent the day painting residences and murals, as well as leading King’s Corner activities for children and community life skills workshops.

“For me it is sometimes a source of despair what American holidays have become,” said Trachtenberg, thinking about how most Americans spend this and other holidays. “[These days] have become an opportunity to go to the mall and take advantage of special sales and discounts… . What we’ve done here at GW, over the past several years, is create a ‘day on’ rather than a day off. We can use the day to think about the life of Dr. King and to think about the role he played in American society and why this is a better, richer, freer and all together enhanced country because we were fortunate enough to have this man in our midst.”

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