MLK Gala

The MLK Gala was held in Saint Joseph’s auditorium on Friday, January 27, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. The annual event was a celebration of Martin Luther King’s legacy. The event began with mocktails and conversations between guests. Shai L. Butler, the Assistant to the President for Diversity opened the event with a brief statement about the purpose of the event. She also let us know that we were in for a great evening filled with poetry, great food, and live music. Ken Scott, Director of Community Service gave a beautiful invocation. We were all invited to enjoy the soul food that was catered for the event. YUM!

Enedina Maya and Colin Ruggiero (one of my favorite bloggers) were this year’s “Voices of the Dream.” They discussed their involvement with a recent outreach trip. Colin even read a poem he wrote after his life-changing experience. The poem was raw and heartfelt. I think I clapped until my hands hurt.

Then, one of my favorite professors shared a poem. I have a poetry writing course with Dr. Ungar this semester, so I was so excited to see her at the event. Even as a published writer, she was humble as she stood behind the podium. She said that she looked through all of her work but could not find anything that was worthy to recite at an event in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Instead of reciting her own work, she made a poem out of his words. It was beautiful and inspirational. Again, I may have clapped a little too much 🙂

The rest of the evening was spent on the dance floor. The band was on point! The two lead singers were amazing. The band covered songs by Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige,  Marvin Gaye and many more well-known artists. The highlight of the evening was when we all started doing the electric slide together. It felt great to bond with other students through one of my favorite hobbies, DANCING! Overall, it was a superb evening and the perfect close to a hectic week.