I was honored to be a panelist for the Martin Luther King Jr. Reading Day Event. As one of the leaders of the Bruins Banned Book Club, I was able to help coordinate the event with other members and speak as a panelist. I designed the flyer for the event, which was approved by the Ken Sander's Institute. Ken Sanders was a guest speaker at the event as well and it was a wonderful experience getting to hear from him directly. In preparation for the event we ordered copies of the book and each read specific sections so we had all the material covered. We selected the book specifically because it showcased some of MLK's lesser known beliefs. We wanted to compare students' understanding of MLK from K-12 education with his true legacy, which was far more radical than the palatable version most of us are familiar with. To facilitate this comparison, we invited atendees to write their answer to the question, "Who is Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to you?" on a whiteboard at the front of the room. After opening the event with a land acknowledgement, which I read, we had a panel discussion, followed by an address from Ken Sander's himself, then an open invitation for anyone in the audience to come to the podium and share specific quotes from the book or any other works related to or by MLK, or their general thoughts and feelings about his legacy.
Having the opportunity to attend each of these graduation celebrations was truly an honor. Listening to the speakers describe their educational journeys at SLCC and how each of these respective programs helped ensure their success reminded me of how grateful I am to have participated as well. It almost felt surreal to receive my medal after being at SLCC for almost 5 years. While my time at SLCC has been slow and steady, it has also been more transformative than I ever could've imagined, especially within the last year after I joined the Honors program. The classes I took to fulfill the Honors requirements were some of the very best I had during my time at SLCC, and I will never forget the professors and peers I connected with because of them. It was also very special to share that moment with my mother, who never completed an associate degree of her own because she had my sister and me. She was prouder and more excited than I was by far, which was really touching.