Black Scholar Awards honor academic, extracurricular accomplishments at URI [P]

04/17/07 - About 100 people gathered last night in the University of Rhode Island Memorial Union Ballroom for the 10th Anniversary Black Scholar Awards.

The URI black scholar awards program, which was founded in 1998, recognizes accomplishments and scholarship of black students.



"On this evening we celebrate the achievements of the young, the gifted and the black," said URI civil engineering professor Christopher D. Hunter who welcomed guests.



Attendees were seated at tables of eight and treated to a buffet-style dinner.



Singer Nina Simone's music played as a PowerPoint presentation recognized previous black scholars and the awards they had received.



After dinner, Harold D. Bibb, associate dean of the Graduate School introduced this year's keynote speaker, D. Crystal Byndloss.



Byndloss, assistant dean for research at Temple University, was awarded the Tossie E. Taylor Jr. Community Service award. She discussed her extensive schooling and shared personal experiences with the audience.



Her speech received an extensive applause.



Bibb interviewed former black scholar award recipients about their accomplishments as students and members of society. Some said they have started their careers and others said they chose to pursue law and graduate degrees.



More than a dozen students were awarded for their accomplishments.



"It's wonderful to look out and see so many beautiful, talented students, and to see so many scholars return is fantastic," said Vanessa Wynder Quainoo, a URI communications professor who presented the St. Elmo Brady Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science. The award recognizes a senior with the highest academic average in the sciences.



St. Elmo Brady award recipient Lucelene Almedia said it felt good to be recognized for her achievements.



"When I got the letter that I had won the award, I was surprised," she said. "I'm really happy."



Seniors James Smart, Chris Washington and Amber Wells were each presented with the Estes Benson Award for Academic Achievement for seniors with the highest overall grade point average.



"It's an honor to see we have students getting this award with a fraction from a 4.0," said Melvoid Benson, a North Kingstown School Committee member who presented the award. "That's an accomplishment in this day and age."



The Jackie Robinson Scholar-Athlete Awards were presented by Dr. Donald Cunnigen, co-founder of the Black Scholar Awards Program.



Recipients Darrell Harris, a basketball player, and Laejon Brooks, a track and field athlete, both maintain high grade point averages and exhibit good sportsmanship, Cunnigen said.



"They're both really remarkable young men, athletes [and] hard workers," Cunnigen said.



State Representatives John Patrick Shanley and Joseph Almeida presented Special Rhode Island Legislative Citations to several students.



"You're going to get citations from a guy whose GPA was the square root of yours," Shanley joked as he presented the awards.



Almeida encouraged all minorities to pursue political positions.



"It's lonely up there," he said.



Janell Yates, recipient of the William Gould award for all-around outstanding achievement, and an inductee of the URI Onyx Senior Honor Society chapter said she was pleased with this year's program.



"It was incredible, and it was nice for once to stand out," she said.



Yates said she enjoyed dinner. "Especially the cheesecake," she said. But she was particularly impressed with the presentation of previous award winners.



"It was nice to see some of the success of those who came before me," she said.



Bibb said this year's program was bigger and better than ever.



"This was probably the largest, and certainly the fanciest," Bibb said of the event. "It was full of positive energy, and full of success. All of that together helped to make the evening special."



The ceremony ended with the induction of students into the Onyx Senior Honor Society.



Inductees exude qualities of heritage, humanity and humility, Culligen said.



"It is just terrific to be able to show off the accomplishments of our African-American students," Bibb said.