The university is scheduled to host the 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Scholarship dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Elliott Student Union Ballroom.
The keynote speaker is UCM alumnus Robert N. Page, former executive director for equity and inclusion at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City.
The dinner is a part of an annual celebration in collaboration with the Warrensburg community members and is an opportunity to reflect on the work and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., according to a news release.
The winners of the 2019 Freedom Scholarship, Arlanda Brown, K’Ron Richardson and Mariah Woodson, will also be honored during the event.
Arlanda Brown is a 22-year-old senior from St. Louis, majoring in sociology with a minor in Africana Studies.
Brown said she filled out an application using MoCents and the site paired her with over 30 scholarships.
“That was it, everything was already applied for me,” Brown said. “I really didn’t have to do anything after that, and thank God”
Brown said everyone should apply for scholarships available to them.
“I try to get my education as close to free as possible,” she said. “I would definitely tell people to apply for scholarships, even scholarships that you don’t think that you would qualify for. Just apply to everything because even some of the things that you think you’d never be able to get, you do.”
Brown said she knows the other winners, Woodson and Richardson, from class and is excited for the banquet because she never knew there was a banquet to honor the winners of the scholarship. Woodson and Richardson were unable to be reached for comment.
Ed Wirthwein, director of mentoring advocacy and peer support, said Freedom Scholarship winners are chosen by a vote of UCM Alumni Foundation scholarship committee.
Tickets for the Freedom Scholarship Dinner are available for purchase at the UCM Student Experience and Engagement Office in Room 214 of the Administration Building or through the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce at 100 S. Holden St. Proceeds from tickets purchased are used to continue funding of the Freedom Scholarship.
