Breakfast of Champions

Anna Glore, Staff Reporter

Hang on for a minute...we're trying to find some more stories you might like.


Email This Story






image_pdfimage_print

On Jan. 14, several students attending the University of Toledo will be awarding deserving students with scholarships — and breakfast — to reward them for their hard work.
This year, the 25th Annual MLK Jr. Scholarship Breakfast, presented by the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc, Alpha Xi Lambda Chapter, will be held at The Pinnacle in Maumee.
The event is an awards ceremony and breakfast and is held in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., appropriately just a few days before his birthday.
“The event is important for several reasons, mainly because the proceeds go towards the scholarships that are being awarded. For the past three years, I have served as the event chairman,” said Jose Rosales, the Alpha Phi Alpha president of the chapter. “As the chair, I look forward to the community engagement and being able to highlight the academic achievements of local students.”

Rosales said at the breakfast each year, updates are provided on past recipients, as well as recognizes a community member for servant leadership and the 2017 Drum Major Instinct winner. The 2017 winner for the Instinct award is Dennis Hopson.
One of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship winners this year in 2017, Dana Thomas, said that she was thrilled when she received the news that her hard work had paid off.
“The scholarship is for African American students at the University of Toledo who are in great academic standing, are involved in extracurricular activities, community service, and who plan to go on and do great things in their professional lives,” Thomas said.
According to Thomas, earning this scholarship required a lot of hard work and dedication on her part.
“I believe that I was chosen because I met the criteria for the scholarship but also because I am passionate about my people and the struggles that we face in this country,” Thomas said. “I believe that those on the committee were able to identify that through my community service and commitment to working with and uplifting the youth.”
The chapter has been awarding up to $10,000 at the MLK Breakfast each year to deserving students.
“Scholarships such as these are palliative in an educational institution in which students like myself are swimming, or in some cases, drowning in debt,” Thomas said. “I am extremely grateful for this scholarship because, in a sense, it will act as my personal life raft.”
Thomas also said that she is extremely grateful for this scholarship, and mentioned a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. that coincides with the event.
“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”
Scholarships such as these are a very much welcomed relief for those students, who can’t afford a college education without them.
“My ability to pursue my degree is dependent on my ability to apply for and receive scholarships. This scholarship is reassurance that I can continue to take the necessary steps I that I need to pursue my goals,” Thomas said.
The event is open to the public with the purchase of a ticket. Said scholarship winners are welcome to invite close friends or family. Doors to the event will open at 8:30 a.m., with the ceremony and breakfast beginning at 9 a.m.

Print Friendly

Leave a Comment

Serving the University of Toledo community since 1919.
Breakfast of Champions