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Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics hosted its 12th annual Black History Month Celebration, presented by TD Bank, on Thursday, Feb. 20, honoring the achievements of African-American student-athletes and alumni. Over 150 people gathered in the Campbell Lounge in the Center for Recreation and Sport to celebrate and listen to keynote speaker, Wendy Lewis, Senior Vice President of Diversity and Strategic Alliances for Major League Baseball and guest speaker
Gianna Smith '08, Community Relations Coordinator for the New York Knicks.
"On behalf of Adelphi Athletics I'd like to thank our partners at TD Bank for their continued support of our Black History Month Celebration dinner, without which, this event would not be possible," Adelphi University Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation said. "A big thank you also goes out to Wendy Lewis and Gianna Smith for sharing their wisdom and advice with our current student-athletes. The evening proved to be a tremendous learning experience for all of us associated with Adelphi athletics."
Master of ceremonies, Kevin Dexter kicked off the evening, and a warm welcomes were given by Mr. McCabe, and TD Bank Vice President for U.S. Field Marketing. Then Ms. Smith took to the microphone to speak about her time at Adelphi and how it helped shape her career path, leaving the audience and student-athletes with this message:
"What I learned at Adelphi? you're preparing yourself for the next level. So why not do as much as you can here so that you're extremely prepared for that next step. You have to make the most of your time and here at Adelphi you have such great access to things on campus that you will probably never have access to, all in one place, ever in life. From organizations, to events, to speaker series, even peer to peer access, this is a time where you can build relationships."
Keynote speaker, Ms. Lewis followed that with a profound message about being a pioneer and breaking down barriers:
"Those of you who are athletes, you know how hard you work. You know how impossible it is, on a given day to win or accept losing. So take into consideration that life can be difficult and challenging and sometimes more difficult and challenging for others. Whether that is an issue of sex, race, life style choice, or physical disabilities and abilities, we are all the same but not quite created, as some people would consider equal."
The Cecil K. Watkins award, which is given annually to a male and female student-athlete of color, who excels in the classroom and on the playing field, was also presented at the celebration. Track and Field Athlete Shani Walker and men's soccer player Jordan Hibbert were recipients of the award, which is named after Adelphi University alumnus and Hall of Famer Cecil K. Watkins.
The Black History Month Celebration was founded in 2002 by former Assistant Athletic Director Suzette McQueen and has been held annually during the month of February since its inception and is presented by TD Bank.
