ESU Recognizes Award Winners at 28th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania recognized the winners for the 2025 Boddie Scholarship, Martin Luther King Jr. awards, and the Julianna and Wayne Bolt Art Contest. The recipients were honored at the 28^th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Breakfast on January 20.

Boddie Scholarship Recipients

The Mary Gertrude Smith Boddie Scholarship Fund provides financial assistance to undergraduate students who demonstrate a commitment to social justice through community and/or university service. In 1904, Ms. Boddie was the first African American student to graduate from what was then known as East Stroudsburg State Normal School, which ultimately became East Stroudsburg University in 1983.

The Mary Gertrude Smith Boddie Scholarship recipients are Bergson Xavier Louis-Jacques, a senior nursing major from East Stroudsburg, Pa.; Cabrina Burnette, a sophomore majoring in communication sciences and disorders and Spanish from Tannersville, Pa.; Favor Toby, a sophomore majoring in business management from Folcroft, Pa.; and Swornim Shrestha, a senior majoring in political science and psychology from Elmhurst, N.Y. The four students each received a $4,165 scholarship award for the spring 2025 semester.

Louis-Jacques is a member of the Men of Color Alliance and the Student Nursing Association. Through these organizations he participates in community events including the Pink Light Walk, food drives, and clothing collections. In 2022 he received the Academic Achievement award, given to the member of MOCA with the best GPA. Through the organization Helping Hands and Beyond, Louis-Jacques has participated in numerous mission trips to underserved communities around the world. He also serves as a drummer, ordained deacon, usher, social media manager, youth group leader, audio/visual, and communications team member at Stroudsburg Seventh-Day Adventist Church. He currently works as a Nurse Extern II. Louis-Jacques is described as overly positive and lively, bringing positive energy into any room he enters. Those around him find him diligent, hardworking and intelligent, as well as a well-mannered, mature young adult.

Burnette is a member of the University Honors Program, Women of Color Initiative, Sigma Phi Omega (Gerontology Honors Society), the Warrior Elite, an orientation leader and an admissions tour guide. She is also working to reestablish the Spanish Club on campus. By pursuing two degrees, she knows her passions for audiology and the Spanish language will help to provide care for diverse populations. She knows there is a true necessity for bilingual audiologists. She hopes to study abroad in Spain to help enrich her understanding of the Spanish language and engage in a culture she hopes to work with in the future. Being involved at ESU has taught her what she is capable of, and she proudly stands as an example to other black women pursing higher education.

Toby is a member of the Women of Color Initiative where she serves as a peer mentor, president of the Pentecostal Student and Associates, treasurer of the African Student Association, and a resident advisor in Hawthorn Suites. She has volunteered for campus events including National Faith & Blue Weekend, the Pink Light Walk, and Pick Up the Poconos. Born in Monrovia, Liberia, passion for entrepreneurship comes from the marketplace hustle she witnessed as a young child. Her worldview shifted when her family moved to the United States where her new neighbors were Italian, African American, and Asian. Toby's ambition to become a global scholar with transformational impact grew. At ESU she took advantage of a study abroad in Germany. Her goal for the future is to develop a company, specifically within the beauty industry's hair sector, that not only excels financially but also addresses needs in underserved communities, transforming how beauty is perceived and experienced.

Shrestha is a member of the Student Government Association, Public Relations Student Society of America, and the Feminist Alliance. She has learned that the path to service comes with constant challenges and that true dedication means persistently striving for change, even when it feels out of reach. Through her advocacy she has learned that change can take generations and sometimes planting seeds is all that we can do. Shrestha believes in measuring connections, compassion and resilience over individual success. She is on a campus committee called "It Takes a Village" to foster community and commitment within the student body. Ultimately, Shrestha says her commitment to non-violence, equality, justice, cultural diversity, and respect for humanity is demonstrated through failures, in getting back up and pushing the needle a little further. She knows resilience, empathy, and commitment will always go further than anger or spite.

Martin Luther King Jr. Award Recipients

The Martin Luther King Jr. Award recipients exemplify the characteristics of Dr. King's philosophy of non-violence, equality, justice, cultural diversity and respect for humanity. Awards were presented to ESU student, Damali Jackson; a member of ESU's staff, Lurine Allotey; and a member of the local community, Nadeen Ivers-Edwards.

Damali Jackson, a senior majoring in communication from Henryville, Pa., is the student trustee for ESU's Council of Trustees. In this role she represents the voices of over 5,000 students, advocating for policies that reflect fairness and equity. Through her work on the Student Government Association Finance Committee, she helped allocate $1.8 million to more than 80 student organizations, showing her understanding that access to resources is crucial in addressing institutional inequality. Jackson has championed the importance of creating inclusive spaces where women of color feel heard, valued, and empowered through her involvement in the Women of Color Initiative (WOCI) and the National Council for Negro Women (NCNW).

Her volunteer work at the Greater Shiloh Church Food Pantry and her participation in the Respect My Life Organization's PB&J Drive for homeless shelters are further reflections of her commitment to Dr. King's ideals of non-violence, service, and respect for humanity. Much like King, who sought to empower others through education and advocacy, Jackson has positioned herself as a bridge between the needs of her community and the power structures capable of addressing those needs. Through her forward-thinking and solution-oriented leadership, she is constantly seeking to elevate those around her, ensuring that the values of justice and equality are not only discussed but acted upon.

Lurine Allotey has called the Pocono region home for the past 24 years. An accomplished author and educator, she currently serves as the assistant director in the Center for Multicultural Affairs and Inclusive Education at ESU, where she has been a dedicated member of the department for nine years. Allotey focuses on student development with a holistic and inclusive approach. Her commitment to fostering community is exemplified by her creation of a book club that offers students a space to connect and share their love of reading in a social setting. In addition to her work in CMAIE, Lurine has served as a Title IX investigator and is actively engaged in several campus initiatives.

She co-chairs the Women of Color Initiative and serves on multiple committees, including the Frederick Douglass Institute Committee, the MLK Breakfast Planning Committee, the CLIE Self-Care Committee, the Prince Hall Elementary Scholarship/ESU Partnership Committee, and the Prince Hall Golf Fund Committee. She also advises the African Student Association, a student organization dedicated to fostering community and cultural awareness.

Allotey holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree in business administration from Centenary College (now Centenary University) in Hackettstown, NJ.

She is also certified in several specialized areas, including trauma training from the Roper Victim Assistance Academy of Maryland, presented by the University of Baltimore School of Criminal Justice; Gallup StrengthsQuest coaching; and Mental Health First Aid/Instructor.

Educator and gospel recording artist Nadeen Ivers-Edwards has been a resident of the Pocono Mountains for the past 36 years. She worked as administrative assistant and gospel hour entertainer at Hillside Inn Resort under the late Wayne Bolt. She earned a computer science degree from Queens College in 1986 and received her master's degree at ESU in 1992. During that time, she and her husband started the ESU Gospel Choir, now known as the Voices of Triumph. While attending ESU, she taught in the Upward Bound program and tutored mathematics. In 1994 she began working as a mathematics teacher at Pocono Mountain School District. That year she formed the Pocono Mountain Gospel Choir which was renamed Urbane.

In addition to being a vocal coach, producer, writer and choir director, Ivers-Edwards has led worship in the Poconos for over 30 years. She started in 1990 at The Christian Missionary Alliance, in 1999 at Paradise Valley Assembly of God (Innovation), and Pocono Community Church (Community Church) in 2004. She is presently the worship leader at Pleasant Valley Assembly of God and assists as worship leader at Stroudsburg Seventh Day Adventist Church and Stroudsburg Wesleyan Church.

Ivers-Edwards retired in June 2024 from Stroudsburg High School after 30 years as a mathematics teacher. While at Stroudsburg she was the advisor to the Step Team, the Environmental Club and the NAACP Future Leaders Club. As an advisor to the NAACP Future Leaders Club, she helped organize Diversity Day and events celebrating Black History Month. Mrs. Edwards has received several community service awards in New York and in the Poconos. She recently celebrated her retirement by releasing her single from her third album, "Shout Hallelujah Today," and her second single, "Still Able," was released on January 1, 2025.

Ivers-Edwards's desire is to "serve the Lord with gladness and come before His presence with singing" while reaching her community for Christ.

Julianna and Wayne Bolt Art Contest

There were 25 entries to the Julianna and Wayne Bolt art contest this year. The entries came from Bangor Area High School, East Stroudsburg High School North, East Stroudsburg High School South, Pleasant Valley High School, Pocono Mountain High School East, and Pocono Mountain High School West. Omari Abrams from East Stroudsburg North High School won first place, Mackenna Ertle from Pleasant Valley High School earned second place, and Kharma Russell from East Stroudsburg South High School was awarded third place. Avery Snyder and Kayla Asendor from Pleasant Valley High School and Erika Trunzo, Pocono Mountain East were each awarded honorable mention. All entries were displayed in ESU's Madelon Powers Gallery after the celebration breakfast.

For information about the Boddie Scholarship visit www.esufoundation.org/give-now or call (570) 422-3333. To see photos from the 28^th Annual Celebration breakfast visit https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBYRvu. To see photos from the Julianna V. Bolt Art Contest gallery exhibit visit https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBYRwX.

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