As the Sun rose over the West-Mec campus on Jan. 17, its auditorium was brimming with activity for the third-annual Passing on the Dream Breakfast. Hosted by Citadel of Praise Christian Church, the event serves as a primary fundraiser for the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship and as a community awards ceremony.
While the scholarship funds have previously gone exclusively to West-Mec students, this is the first year that any Buckeye Union High School District student enrolled in a Continuing Technical Education program—regardless of if they attended West-Mec or not—was also permitted to apply.
“We decided that CTE was the way to go, the way to help,” said Citadel of Praise Pastor Brian Wright. “Our goal is to remove barriers.”
“Through the opportunity provided by CTE and FBLA, I grew as a leader when I realized the impact I could have on the community,” she said in her acceptance speech. “Dr. King once said, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?’ This question became my compass as I embraced leadership roles, facilitated workshops, and sought creative space where underrepresented voices like mine could flourish. This scholarship is more than just recognition, it is a call to action.”
“[The scholarship] means everything, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to be here without it,” she told InBuckeye. “It’s just amazing to know that there are people out there who want to see you succeed, who want to have children be educated and I think that’s what it means to me the most.”
She said she has been inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to be tenacious in pursuing her goals: “It’s always been my dream to do more, it’s always been my dream to help people in patient care and in the laboratory, so I think just keeping the dream. Knowing you have one and keeping pushing. … There is always a way to do what you love, always.”
Micah Swain, of Millennium High School in Goodyear, studies water treatment at West-Mec and also received $150 to cover his admission fees.
“This is one of the best times of my life, I’m learning about chemistry, biology, using tools,” he said in his acceptance speech. “Thank you to Citadel of Praise for giving me this opportunity to be at West-Mec.”
Lifetime achievement award
“I met him for the first time while I was a student in Tuskegee,” he told InBuckeye. “I heard him speak, I shook his hand, looked in his face just like you and I are. He was almost my height and just a few years older than I was at the time, but he struck my life that night and, in September, 68 years ago, I saw him again walking from Selma to Montgomery. I saw him again, the last time, when my brother graduated in ’65. And I was serving nuclear alert on the day he was killed.”
Approximately 30 years later, Toliver worked directly with Dr. King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
“Dr. King had a mantra: He loved God, he loved his family and he loved people and the world,” Toliver said. “He served in that manner. So, I try to follow after that since I got to know him and later as I really did get to know him from his wife directly. … That man affected my life from the time I was 18. He’s still affecting me today. I’m going to be 87 this year. I’m still trying to follow after him.”
Community awards
“I’m currently the only one, but don’t want to be the only one,” Love-Ness said. “If you want to make a community impact, one way is to protect the community.”
“As the recipient, I am very proud to see and hear about all the students who have received scholarships through West-Mec and what the Citadel of Praise Church is doing to raise money for the scholarship,” she said.
“I see leaders, I see dreamers, I see doers and I see believers,” said Gunn. “It is all of our collective responsibility. … How am I living the legacy, how am I living the dream?”