Rosa Parks Scholarship program celebrates recipients and anniversary on March 4

Three students who have won Rosa Parks Scholarships will be honored at the 25th annual Rosa Parks Scholarship and Presentation ceremony on Tuesday, March 4, at 4 p.m. at the Williams Center Multipurpose Room.

Recipients of the award and their respective entries are:

Ken Clause, a senior from Lockport majoring in Drawing and Painting, for artwork, “American Indian Identity;” Melissa Guida, a junior from Fishkill majoring in Psychology and Criminal Justice, for a poem, “Lo Siento, No Hablo Espano,l” and Arielys Mendoza, a freshman from the Bronx majoring in Cooperative Engineering, for a comic presentation, “All I Wanted.” Each will receive a $350 scholarship and present their winning entry.

All students who entered the competition will be honored at the ceremony.

The Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus will give a special performance at the ceremony, which will conclude with a small reception.

The Rosa Parks competition recognizes student expressions that explore multiculturalism and celebrate diversity through art, music, language, dance and other forms of art. The award was founded in 1989 to honor Parks, an African American Civil Rights activist whose act of civil disobedience – not surrendering her seat on a bus to a white passenger – led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and helped launch the Civil Rights movement.

The ceremony, sponsored by the Center for Multicultural Affairs, is free and open to students, faculty and staff, and the community.