Six U-46 students to be awarded MLK scholarships
Elgin Area School District U-46 will honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. through a variety of events and community programs, including food drives and other volunteer projects in schools, an in-depth discussion on one of Dr. King's famous sermons, and by participating in the Dr. King Youth Leadership Conference.
In addition, six U-46 seniors will receive the scholarship during the City of Elgin's celebrations honoring the civil rights leader.
A number of U-46 staff and administrators will be attending the City of Elgin's 34th Annual Dr. King Prayer Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Elgin Community College University and Business Center, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. The celebrations are organized by the city's Human Relations Commission, and the 2019 theme is "Justice Before Comfort."
This year's celebration will also include the eighth annual Dr. King Youth Leadership Conference, during which U-46 students will participate and scholarships will be awarded. The conference begins at noon Monday, Jan. 21, at the Ed Schock Centre of Elgin, 100 Symphony Way, Elgin.
Jeron Shelton, an inspirational speaker, will serve as the keynote speaker for the Youth Leadership Conference. The scholarship recipients are:
• Jacqueline Zarate ($1,000 scholarship) attends Bartlett High School and plans on attending Elgin Community College where she will major in business administration.
• Elisa Arce ($1,000 scholarship) attends Larkin High School and has been accepted into Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and will major in architecture.
• Andres Dominguez ($1,000 scholarship) attends Larkin High School and has been accepted into the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he plans to pursue a degree in art education.
• Patrick Stephen ($800 scholarship) attends Bartlett High School and plans on attending Milwaukee School of Engineering where he will pursue a degree in computer science.
• Travis Farley ($600 scholarship) attends Larkin High School and plans on attending Florida Atlantic University where he will pursue a degree in business.
• Maritza Renteria ($600 scholarship) attends Larkin High School and has been accepted into Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo. She will major in mechanical engineering.
"We are proud to have them represent Dr. King's legacy in achieving higher education and becoming leaders in our communities now and in the future," said Danise Habun, chair of Elgin's King Celebration Planning Committee. "Their commitment clearly comes through in their interviews, applications and videos."
A number of U-46 schools are also participating in the eighth annual Dr. King Food Drive. Participating drop-off locations can be found at cityofelign.org/mlk.
In the past seven years, more than 65,000 pounds of food has been collected, making it one of the most successful food drives in the Fox Valley area. Food will be distributed on Jan. 19 to eight local food pantries.
Tied to the celebrations of Dr. King, two U-46 middle schools - Abbott and Kimball - are hosting "Socratic Cafes" this month during which students will discuss how to apply Dr. King's values and vision to contemporary social and political issues.
A Socratic seminar (in U-46 being organized as "cafes" for 2019) is a collaborative, intellectual dialogue facilitated with open-ended questions about a text and/or topic. The basis for the students' discussions will be a quote from King's sermon "On Being a Good Neighbor" and related to the "Justice Before Comfort" theme: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Members of the Windy City Bulls, the NBA G affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, plan to attend several of the Socratic cafes.
The AVID College Readiness System Hosted Socratic Cafes:
• Abbott Middle School on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Four sessions from 9 to 9:45 a.m., 9:49 to 10:34 a.m., 11:27 a.m. to 12:12 p.m., and 12:16 to 1:01 p.m.
• Kimball Middle School on Friday, Jan. 25. Four sessions from 9 to 9:45 a.m., 11:27 a.m. to 12:12 p.m., 1:05 to 1:50 p.m., 1:54 to 2:39 p.m.