READING, Pa. — Penn State Berks will host a banquet in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. on Tuesday, Jan. 24. The event will be held in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room; doors open at 5 p.m., with dinner at 5:30 p.m. Attendance is free for the campus community but attendees must have a ticket in advance and seating is limited.
This year’s banquet theme is unity. The keynote speaker is Mildred Gilyard, president of the Central Pennsylvania African American Museum in Reading. During the banquet, awards will be presented to students who have demonstrated the characteristics for which King was known: leadership, community involvement, and efforts towards social justice. The following Penn State Berks students will receive awards: seniors Katelyn Beach and Roger Salguero and junior Nardin Yacoub.
For the first time, local high and middle school students were eligible to receive an award, and Akansha Bhusari, a senior at Wilson High School, was selected. This is also the first year that Berks students were asked to nominate a faculty/staff member for an award, and Mahsa Kazempour, associate professor of science education, will be honored.
Several community groups will be in attendance, including the NAACP–Reading Branch, Central Pennsylvania African American Museum, and United Africans in the Dispora of Berks County. For additional information or to reserve a seat, contact Sharon Pitterson-Ogaldez, coordinator of Diversity and International Programs, at 610-396-6080 or [email protected].
