University Community Celebrates Advocacy, Hope, and Dr. King’s Legacy

Before she became a Charger, Azza Hussein ’23 M.A. worked as a teacher in Virginia at a center serving Sudanese Americans. There, she helped foster support for the community, creating a mentoring program and a women’s discussion series, fueling her passion for promoting mental health and well-being in marginalized communities.

Now a candidate in the University’s community psychology graduate program, she has continued her important work, both at the University and in the local community. A youth leadership coordinator for Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services in New Haven, Hussein volunteers with Sanctuary Kitchen, which provides professional development and employment for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the Greater New Haven area.

Hussein was recently recognized for her commitment to making a difference as part of the University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. She was presented an MLK Vision Award at the culminating event of the weeklong MLK Celebration.

“I believe Dr. King is one of the greatest American and world leaders to have lived, so it’s a great honor to be receiving this award named after him,” said Hussein, who is completing an internship with the Yale School of Medicine’s antiracism task force. “Through my work, I try to empower others and remind them that they have agency. I also try to inform them of the privileges that we, as children of immigrants and as immigrants, are able to access due to the work of Dr. King and other civil rights leaders.”

‘Brings us all together’

As part of the third annual MLK Celebration, several meritorious students, faculty, and staff were presented awards in recognition of their commitment to embodying the ideals of Dr. King and the impact they are making on campus and in the communities in which they live.

“Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a holiday we can all rally around regardless of our background, as it brings us all together with purpose,” said Sheahon Zenger, Ph.D., interim president, addressing the University community at the start of the celebration’s culminating event. “I look at the doors that have been opened to so many because of sacrifices of Dr. King and so many others. You’re not here just to treat others as you want to be treated, but to treat others as they want to be treated.”

The event brought the University community together to reflect on the theme of this year’s MLK Celebration, This is Our Hope: Celebrating Achievement and Hope for the Future. The celebration also included local high school students, who took part in an essay contest that invited them to share their thoughts about the theme. The winner, Linayah Aquino, a junior at Kolbe Cathederal High School, was recognized at the ceremony.

‘Fight for what is right’

The recipient of the University’s MLK scholarship, Kaelin Barrionuevo ’26, a criminal justice major, was announced at the event. The scholarship is presented to outstanding minority students who achieve academic success and espouse Dr. King’s values. Additional honorees included Peri Alexander ’23, who accepted an MLK Vision Award as part of the ceremony.

“He instills hope and courage in us to stand up for what we believe in,” said Alexander, a health sciences major. “He reminds us all of our past, how we took great strides to be where we are now, and inspires our future. As a university, it is our job to recognize the significance of Dr. King’s legacy and how it influences the student body and overall community.”

Passionate about fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging (DEIAB) at the University, Alexander is a Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) ambassador. She also co-created the Students Integrated Mentorship Program.

“Being a part of the MLK Celebration was one my greatest achievements this year,” said Alexander. “Being recognized was a tremendous honor, and I am proud to have my hard work seen in the vision of such a leader and inspiration as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to attend this University or even win this honor without Dr. King’s achievements and efforts, and for that I am forever grateful.”

Linda Copney-Okeke, M.A., accepted the Philip H. and Susan S. Bartels Award for Advocacy, Leadership, and Service. Yanice Mendez-Fernandez, Ph.D, MPH, and David Schroeder, Ph.D., associate deans of the School of Health Sciences and Lee College, respectively, also received Vision Awards for their commitment to DEIAB initiatives. When she accepted her award, Dr. Mendez-Fernandez thanked her students and recognized those who came to the United States from other countries to pursue higher education and new opportunities.

“My students taught me to be brave and to fight for what is right,” she said. “Most importantly, they taught me that giving someone a seat at the table means nothing if we don’t give them a voice.”

‘We can’t stand idly by’

The program wrapped up a week of events that reflected its theme of hope, including a campus-wide skill-building workshop and an interfaith service. The event also included a moment of silence to honor Kento Yasuhara, Ph.D., a professor of psychology, who had died two weeks earlier.

Lamond Daniels ’09 MPA, chief of community services for the City of Norwalk, delivered the keynote address. He shared words of wisdom and encouragement about mental health, discussed the inequities that were further amplified during the pandemic, and offered praise for the important work that members of the University community are already doing. He also challenged the University community to do even more, encouraging his fellow Chargers to keep in mind the public-safety slogan, “If you see something, say something” if they witness injustice.

“We can’t stand idly by,” he said. “If someone says something, are you willing to say, ‘Hey, that’s not cool,’ or do we keep quiet because we don’t want to be known as a troublemaker? If I see something, I’ll say, ‘Hey that’s not cool.’ That’s what I believe is missing today. Are you speaking up for your brother or sister who may not have a voice or who may not have found their voice, or are you helping them to have a voice?”