Quarter-Million Raised at Pinnacle Awards for Student Scholarships
Approximately $250,000 was raised for student scholarships at the Medgar Evers College Pinnacle Awards & Scholarship Dinner, on October 11, 2017. The theme for this year’s black-tie fundraiser, the College’s major fundraising event, was “Carnival: A Celebration of Culture.†The dinner, held at Guastavino’s, at 409 East 59th Street in Manhattan, featured young dancers on stilts and steel drums entertaining guests and DeMarco Morgan, a CBS News correspondent based in New York, as the Master of Ceremony.
MEC exists at “the intersection of hope and possibility,†President Rudolph F. Crew said in his remarks. “If I could rename Medgar, I would rename it the next step,†Dr. Crew added.
“It’s about our diaspora taking the next step,†he said. “Cherish it, enjoy it, be blessed by it, contribute to it.â€
The College presented awards to three honorees, “Miss Pat†Chin, a Jamaican entrepreneur and co-founder of VP Records, Don Lowery, Senior Vice-President, Community Engagement at Nielsen and Paul T. Williams, Jr., Co-Founder and Managing Director, Williams Strategy Advisors and Of Counsel, Arent Fox LLP. Attendees included Reggae superstar “Shaggyâ€, a special guest of Miss Pat.
Ms. Chin, Mr. Lowery and Mr. Williams, the three honorees, all mirror the College’s commitment to diversity and social equity. The MEC student body is highly international and more than 90 percent of MEC students receive financial aid to pursue their studies.
“I accept this award in the memory of Medgar Evers,†Mr. Lowery said.
In accepting his award, Mr. Williams declared that the success of America depends on the success of MEC and colleges like it. “Today we live in some troubling times,†Mr. Williams said.
“Just like this College, I believe in preserving our history,†Miss Pat said when she received her Pinnacle award.
The Pinnacle Awards Dinner allows the College to raise much-needed scholarship funds and to showcase our extraordinary value, strength and diversity.
The College raises funds through the MEC Educational Foundation. There was a journal, a silent and an online auction, as well as an opportunity to make a tax-deductible donation.
