康奈尔护理学院 student Chiamaka Okorie先生, 2016 winner of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, addresses the audience at the 34th annual awards ceremony in Gasson Hall. （摄影：弗兰克·柯伦）
康奈尔护理学院 student Chiamaka Okorie先生 ’17 has been named the 2016 马丁·路德·金. 纪念奖学金获得者.
年度奖学金, presented to a 太阳城网赌平台 junior who has demonstrated superior academic achievement, 课外的领导, community service and involvement with the African American community and African American issues, was awarded to Okorie at a dinner last week, 为纪念 所有决赛选手. 她的母亲, 简·埃娜·奥克里, 还有她的妹妹, Nnenna, traveled from the Bronx to attend the event.
“这是一个巨大的荣誉. Martin Luther King was able to unite a whole host of people for one mission, and that’s because he centered it on something that’s beyond race, 这可以归结为核心身份,Okorie说。, who was born in Nigeria and came to the U.S. 她八岁的时候. “That’s been the focus of my reflection. ‘What is my identity and how do I use that?’"
It was 太阳城网赌平台’s commitment to service that attracted Okorie. “Service was a big part of my high school career. No other school put that at the forefront of their mission [like BC did]. 这句话真的打动了我. I thought ‘This is going to be a community of people who are going to be engaged in conversation and are going to set the world aflame.“我想成为那些人中的一员.”
大一那年，Okorie参与了 校园 Ministry’s Jamaica Magis program, which brings BC students to live and serve in solidarity with people in Jamaica. She participated in the summer service trip in 2014, and led the winter trip this year. She has served as a teacher’s assistant at Holy Family Primary School in Kingston, as well as with Missionaries of Charity, 穷人传教会, 芥末籽, providing companionship and care for their populations which included the elderly and children with disabilities or HIV/AIDS.
Okorie entered BC as a political science major intent on a career as a diplomat. She had a change of heart during her freshman year after returning to Nigeria over semester break, prompting her to transfer to the Connell School.
Okorie plans to pursue a career in public health policy. She wants to work as a nurse first, which she feels will inform her advocacy efforts. She is particularly passionate about maternal health.
“Maternal health is linked to the idea of female empowerment,” she said. “Women and child face the greatest burden of health care disparities. If a woman isn’t taking charge of her health and her child’s health then it is a lost opportunity for the whole community.”
去年夏天，奥克里 traveled to Ghana on an Amanda Houston Fellowship to conduct a research project on malaria prevention for mothers and babies. This past fall, she presented her findings at the Conference on Child Rights & 耶鲁大学风景.
MLK Scholarship finalists with BC President William P. 莱希,年代.J. From left: Joi Dallas, Osamase Ekhator, Fr. Leahy, award winner Chiamaka Okorie先生, Jessica Stephens, and Jacquelyn Andalcio. (弗兰克Curran)
As vice president of the Black Student Forum, Okorie focuses on dialogue on what it means to be a black student here at BC—-something she admits she initially found a bit overwhelming. “It’s been a great way for me to learn about my black identity. It’s personally very important to me that people embrace it, understand how to communicate what they’re struggling with, 定义他们的经历. And then, overcome that, to appreciate BC for the opportunity it can give them. It means a lot to me—-that personal development.”
Okorie also is a resident assistant, helping freshman students adjust to college. “我真的很喜欢. It has been a meaningful opportunity to help build community for my women, support them during a transition that was challenging for me, 鼓励他们表现真实.”
Okorie’s programs have ranged from “Shonda Nights,” where the topic of black women in the media is discussed, to a retreat for women she organized with other RAs.
Okorie expressed gratitude to many members of the BC community who have supported her. 她称赞凯茜·里德, Allyssa Harris and Maureen Connolly from the Connell School and Michael Davidson, S.J., Christine Cichello, Daniel Leahy and Chris Darcy from 校园 Ministry. She also cited Residential Life’s Katie Corey DiLeo and Peter Hausladen, as well as Director of Undergraduate 太阳城网赌平台 John Mahoney, 《太阳城网赌平台》导演丹·邦奇, Montserrat Coalition Manager Yvonne McBarnett and Kwasi Sarkodie-Mensah, who served as her advisor for her Ghana project.
Read about the 2016 MLK Scholarship finalists here.
凯瑟琳·沙利文|新闻 & 公共事务