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A look at the other finalists for the 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship:
Tracy Akuffo
A sociology major from Pineville, NC, interested in a law career, Akuffo represented Boston College at last year’s Teach for America Rising Leaders Summit in Washington, DC, and is logistics coordinator for this year’s event. A member of the PULSE program, she volunteered as a tutor and mentor to high school students at the Cambridge Housing Authority and has worked with the BC Campus School and the Office of Undergraduate Admission. She is co-coordinator of events and director of freshman mentoring for the Black Student Forum and has been a three-year contributor to the Black History Month Planning Committee. This past winter, she traveled to northern Mississippi with the AHANA Leadership Council’s Volunteer Corps. Akuffo serves as vice president of the newly established AHANA Pre-Law Students Association.
Adizah Eghan
A native of San Jose, Calif., Eghan is majoring in political science and French, and is currently studying abroad in Paris. Inspired by a course in the sociology of HIV/AIDS, she won an Amanda Houston Fellowship to travel to India, where she worked with an NGO focused on prevention and awareness among the gay community. She has volunteered with the progressive publication Gavel Media, participated in the School of Americas Watch in Georgia, and served as an ESL tutor to Somali refugees in Roxbury through the 4Boston program. She worked with elementary school children last year in BC’s Jamaica Summer service trip and interned in the offices of US Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and US Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.). She plans to pursue a career in public health and public affairs after graduation.
Charissa Jones
Jones and her family emigrated from Dominica to New York City, where as a high school student she volunteered in a home for troubled boys. A communication and psychology major at BC, she has participated in a PULSE program placement with Project Bread, served as pianist with the Liturgy Arts Group and worked as a research associate to Assistant Professor of Communication James Olufowote. Last year, Jones took part in an Arrupe service immersion trip to Ecuador, and she hopes to lead this trip to South America during her senior year. In addition, Jones volunteers in the Office of Undergraduate Admission, has played roles in several dramatic productions, and organized a fashion show for CARE (Concerned About Rape Education) week as an executive board member of Mosaic. She spent the fall semester studying in Madrid.
Malika Weekes
A resident of Randolph, Mass., enrolled in the Connell School of Nursing, Weekes is an undergraduate research fellow helping CSON Professor Judith Vessey design an honors program for nursing. She has worked extensively with the University Mail Services, Athletic Concessions and as a summer campus tour guide, and tutors fellow students in statistics. She also volunteers in the Undergraduate Admission Office and has participated in her congregation at the South Shore Pentecostal Church. Through her PULSE placement with the Bridge Over Troubled Waters service program, she helped deliver basic health care to Boston’s homeless population. Weekes was elected to the PULSE Council this year and chosen for the Connell School’s KILN (Keys to Inclusive Leadership in Nursing) program.