Five Urbana High School Students will be recognized as “Living The Dream” Scholarship recipients at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Countywide Celebration on January 15 at the Krannert Center for Performing Arts. Doors open at 4 p.m. The ceremony starts at 5 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. The awardees are:

• Kristan Howell
• Keyarah Johnson
• Jennifer Lopez
• Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta
• Halie Thompson (Pastor Claude Shelby President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement)

Every year 10 -12 high school seniors from Champaign County receive this scholarship. The recipients are chosen based on their scholarship application, financial need and a personal essay explaining their commitment to living the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Advocacy for Justice Committee Inc. is a community-wide committee formed to enact Dr. King’s vision for unity. The committee’s primary focus is to impact the lives of future college students who embody Dr. King’s work. Each year the committee selects King Scholars from a pool of local high school seniors and awards them with a $1,000 “Living the Dream” scholarship to use at a college of their choice. This scholarship is renewable for up to four years.

The annual Unity Breakfast is January 16 at 8:30 a.m. at Vineyard Church of Central Illinois. This event is also free and open to the public.

For more information on the scholarship program visit: https://www.mlkcu.com/