U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today announced the recipients of the third annual Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars—a group of 10 outstanding undergraduate and graduate students whose academic achievement and community service honor the legacy of the renowned civil rights leader's contributions to public service and humanity.

"Thirty-six years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated," Secretary Paige said. "But his dream did not die; it lives on in these students—highly educated, highly motivated young people who symbolize Dr. King's goal of striving to make a difference. I commend these students and welcome their expertise as we continue our efforts to implement historic education reform so that no child is left behind."

Launched by President Bush in 2002, the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars Program offers students the opportunity to serve as summer interns at the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. This year's scholars represent a range of academic pursuits, from social work to economics to African American children's literature. Many are working on a master's or doctorate degree.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars Program is open to continuing juniors, seniors and graduate students who are enrolled on a full-time basis in an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree program at the time of their application, as well as in the academic semester following the summer internship. Students from any field of study are welcome to apply.

Applicants submit resumes, college transcripts, references, a 500-word essay and a one-page cover letter. This year's essay focused on the link between education policy and the philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr., evident in the following quotation: "We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to humanity."

The other required document this year was a one-page cover letter on why the student wished to be a Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar and what the student had accomplished or planned to accomplish that embraced King's philosophies.

Review panels evaluated the applicants and submitted recommendations to the secretary. The list of this year's scholars follows.

2004 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars

Name: Melvette Lurene Melvin
College: Penn State
Degree program/major: M.A., English program; research area is African American children's and young adult literature
Graduation date: May 2004
Hometown: Seat Pleasant, Md.

Name: Julie Park
College: Vanderbilt University (will start at UCLA this fall)
Degree program/major: B.A., Women's studies, sociology, English (higher education and organizational change as of this fall)
Graduation date: May 2004
Hometown: Dayton, Ohio

Name: Mayra Nava
College: Loyola University Chicago
Degree program/major: Ph.D., school psychology
Graduation date: May 2005
Hometown: Chicago

Name: Peter K. Enns
College: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Degree program/major: Ph.D., political science/American politics
Graduation date: Spring 2007
Hometown: Kingsburg, Calif.

Name: Richard Li
College: University of Chicago
Degree program/major: B.A., anthropology
Graduation date: June 2005
Hometown: Idaho Falls, Idaho

Name: Shayla Mitchell
College: Georgia State University
Degree program/major: Ph.D., Education policy studies/social foundations
Graduation date: May 2006
Hometown: Cerritos, Calif.

Name: Stephen Atlas
College: Brown University
Degree program/major: B.A., economics
Graduation date: May 2005
Hometown: Arlington, Va.

Name: Benjamin Kolodzeij
College: Mary Washington College
Degree program/major: B.A., sociology; M.S., elementary education
Graduation date: May 2004 (B.A.); May 2005 (M.S.)
Hometown: Ewing, N.J.

Name: Stacey Jackson
College: Springfield College
Degree program/major: M.A., social work
Graduation date: May 2005
Hometown: Springfield, Mass.

Name: Kathleen Kerstetter
College: University of Maryland, College Park
Degree program/major: B.A., government and politics, and English. Next year, completing the second year of a master's program in education policy at the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs.
Graduation date: B.A. in government and politics, and English (May 2004); M.A. in public policy (May 2005)
Hometown: Middletown, Md.

###

Top

Back to April 2004