Lawrencia Atakora, an Office of Supportive Services student, is a member of the winning team for the Seventh Annual Black History Month Multicultural Heroes Hall of Fame Case Competition.  The Hospitality Business freshman competed with two other team members to win the $1500 cash prize.  When asked about how she felt about her win, Lawrencia said, “I feel like it was a true blessing.  I just want to thank God for the confidence to do what I did.”  

The theme of this year’s competition was “Passing the Torch of Justice.”  Lawrencia’s team, “The Powers of Influence,” beat out four other teams to be the winner.  The Powers of Influence did a mixed media presentation on their hero, Corrie ten Boom.  Ten Boom is famous for hiding Jews, refugees and Resistance Fighters from the Nazi invaders.  She was also prominent in world-wide justice concerns as well as in teaching the Christian gospel.

This was the seventh year for this annual competition.  The four competing teams were the finalists which had been pared down from 19 initial competitive teams.  Each team was judged based upon the following criteria:  - Captivating introduction and flow into the presentation, - How well have the students researched their hero?, - How well are facts presented about the hero linked with what MLK stood for?, - Use of visual aids. Ability to communicate in a clear and persuasive manner, - Time Utilization, each team is limited to 10 minutes.  How effectively did they use their time?, - Did they make a convincing case for why their hero should be inducted?

In addition to the money award, each member of the winning team will receive a plaque.  Since the beginning of the Case Competition, six heroes have been inducted into the Multicultural Heroes Hall of fame. The inductees include:  Mother Teresa, Cesar E. Chavez, Sitting Bull, Susan B. Anthony, George Washington Carver and Tecumseh.  Prior to this year, over 78 students have participated in the competition and over $12,000 in prizes have been awarded.  This was an inspiring event and many OSS students and staff members were in the audience or assisting with the event.