Citizenship awards given

By ANNE LONGERBEAM

Imagine being president of the Black Student Association at the University of Mary Washington, an active member of three other prominent diversity groups, and a University tour guide.  Now, imagine doing all of these things at once.

Those are the activities that Kiama Anthony, a junior, takes on every day.

Anthony, along with Senior Osob Samantar, was the winner of the Citizenship Award for Diversity Leadership given during Jim Lucas’ speech on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The annual $500 scholarship, usually given to a senior, was awarded to both a senior and a junior this semester.

In order to apply, both girls filled out an application from the James Farmer Multicultural Center, in addition to getting a nomination from a faculty member at UMW.

Anthony is a member of Women of Color, Students Educating and Empowering for Diversity, and Brothers of a New Direction. She was honored to receive the award.

“I’m pretty excited,” said Anthony, a Sociology major. “It really means a lot that somebody thinks that I’m doing something positive here.”

Anthony’s roommate Shaunique Poole admires her energy.

“I’m very proud of her.  She definitely deserves it,” Poole said.  “She does a lot for the multicultural community here.”

As president of Women of Color, and an active member of SEED and the BSA, Samantar also exemplifies what it means to promote diversity across campus.

Although extremely active on campus, Samantar was surprised to be selected out of such a worthy pool of applicants.

“I’m just excited that out of all the seniors I was the one chosen,” Samantar said.  “I know there are a lot of other seniors who are just as devoted, and work just as hard as I do, and probably deserve it as much as I did.”

Anthony agrees.

“At the end of the day, I wouldn’t change how busy I am,” Anthony said.  “Making a difference is what matters most.”