Chisom Sunny-Eduputa Wins Inclusive Excellence Award

2017 May 19

Among its end-of-the-year festivities, Eastern Connecticut State University recognized the academic achievements of African, Latino, Asian and Native American (ALANA) students on May 5 during the Inclusive Excellence Awards. Nine awards were given for service and 165 students were recognized for achieving GPAs of 3.5 or higher at the fifth annual ceremony.

Among the awardees was Chisom Sunny-Eduputa '18 of Mansfield Center, who received the Resilient Warrior Award and majors in Computer Science.

Eastern President Elsa Nunez told those in attendance that the awards ceremony was not just about inclusion. "It also speaks to Eastern's other core values of academic excellence, integrity, social Responsibility, engagement and empowerment. Today, we show respect and celebrate the accomplishments of students who too often have been forgotten in the past. We are very proud of you! We are doing everything we can to promote the success of students of color. We know that having an inclusive, diverse and culturally rich campus is good for all our students - in the end, we all must learn to live together in today's global society."

Alumna Natasha Stephens, who graduated from Eastern in 2003 and is the Title IX coordinator at Wichita State University in Kansas, delivered the keynote address. She told the students: "While you have breath in your body, thank those who helped you, took time to meet with you, who gave you an opportunity and took a chance on you. Never forget your roots and where you came from - no matter how high you go in life, give back your time to someone else."