The theme of this year’s first Kirkwood Black Student Union (KBSU) gala was “Celebrating Black Excellence.” After several long months of preparation, on March, 30, 2024, the club’s hard work paid off.
The gala was held in Iowa Hall and the evening consisted of more than 60 attendees with tuxedos and gowns, food, dancing, an awards presentation, a guest speaker and dancing.
The event aimed to honor both the successes and challenges faced by the club and its members.
Despite facing adversity as a relatively new club, the KBSU has remained successful with its goal of recruiting students. The involvement of KBSU members, donors and club advisors, Jed Peterson and Mialisa Wright, was plentiful.
“We didn’t want to take the easy route,” KBSU President Ellen Waynawhere said. “We had bigger things in mind.” This is where the idea of the gala began.
“Through the good and bad, we’ve all learned to be leaders,” Ellen added. “A different person steps up each time, and we’ve become a family. We’ve built an electrifying bond that keeps us together and helps us persevere.”
Although there were many changes that took place during the preparation, the club managed to plan and prepare the event in a timely manner.
Wright said, “It took several months of preparation. It was originally going to be at the Linn County Regional Center but it got moved to Iowa Hall.”
The event’s guest speaker, LaNisha Cassell, executive director of the African American Museum of Iowa, embodied the spirit of Black excellence, according to the KBSU leadership team.
During the gala, she spoke on the achievements that the KBSU students have exhibited throughout the year and stated it was such an honor to be chosen to speak that evening.
After Cassell spoke, awards were presented to students and club advisors for their hard work and dedication during the past school year.
The awards were presented to LaNisha Cassell, Difference Maker Award; Gigi Dahab, Leadership Award; Tathiana Mbui Mange, Most Improved Member; Doumbia Fasseri, Community Champion Award; Josh Ngari, Mentorship Award; and Princess Zammie, Adversity Award.
Support for the gala came from both within and outside the Kirkwood community. The non-profit organization, Waynawhere Educational Foundation based in Liberia, was one of the donors for the event. The organization focuses on providing education and opportunities, particularly for young women. Additionally, Morgan Bear, TRIO advisor at Kirkwood, was also a donor to the event.
Cornell College students were also invited to attend the event, due to KBSU club member connections. This gave the club more opportunities to share its growth throughout the past year as a new club.
Elizabeth Angelina, communications chair for the KBSU stated, “I feel like this event is important to the club because it allows students to come together and mingle but also, we welcomed students from Cornell College to the event.” Angelina said she originally joined the KBSU club to get to know other students.
For more information about the KBSU and events, contact jed.peterson@kirkwood.edu, mialisa.wright@kirkwood.edu or ellen-waynawhere@kirkwood.edu.
Liz is a second year Journalism and Mass Communications student who has been Creative Director and News Editor with the Communiqué. She also works at 88.3 KCCK as a Radio News Intern and the Corridor Business Journal as a Reporting Intern. After receiving her associate degree from Kirkwood, she will transfer to the University of Iowa with the 2+2 program. At Iowa, she will continue her journalism passions with the Daily Iowan newspaper and DITV. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree, she plans to work as a Multimedia Journalist and Reporter/News Anchor for KCCI in Des Moines or another station in Iowa.
Categories: Campus News, News
