TCC announces 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards

Tidewater Community College honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by presenting annual awards to those who embody his teachings and spirit.

The 2022 recipients are:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award: Annette Mewborn, English professor at the Virginia Beach Campus.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Award: Jiahuan Lin, a TCC student working toward her Associate of Science in General Studies.

The two will be honored during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Virtual Awards and Recognition Program on Feb. 25 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Register for the event.

William Harrell, President and CEO of Hampton Roads Transit

The featured speaker is William E. Harrell, President and CEO of Hampton Roads Transit. Harrell will speak on “Why is Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy relevant today?”

Annette Mewborn
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award

Annette Mewborn is passionate about bringing people together and serving the community.

The English professor, who began working at the Virginia Beach Campus admissions office, joined the college in 1989. For close to a decade, Mewborn organized Black History Month events on the Virginia Beach Campus to celebrate African American history and culture. The events included programs like “From the Root of It,” a look at hairstyles through the ages, as well as a historical review of “Motown Music.”

Her long list of accomplishments includes starting a tutoring center for children at Rehoboth Baptist Church. She set up the center and recruited volunteers to teach English, writing, music and Spanish.

Pre-pandemic, Mewborn presented 12 holiday concerts at TCC with Echoes of Excellence, a group of students with a love for music. Together they packed the Pungo Auditorium year after year. She also established High Class, an educational band that writes and performs songs for youth at community events.

Most recently, Mewborn organized a toy drive and holiday concert for abused children through her work with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates). The outdoor event was held in Mewborn’s own backyard.

And during the pandemic, she started The Novel Kids, a reading program for children to keep them engaged and learning in the summer months.

“I believe in peace and unity, and the tenets Dr. King held dear,” Mewborn said. “If you look at some of his most influential quotes, you see one word that mirrors the Bible and that is love. That’s how I strive to live my life. By loving my neighbor, wherever I am.”

Jiahuan Lin
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Award

Community service has become a way of life for Jiahuan Lin. She began volunteering in high school and has no intention of slowing down.

Lin,18, holds a 4.0 GPA and is working on an Associate of Science in General Studies.

An Outstanding High School Scholar, Lin serves as a TCC student ambassador and represents the college at open houses and other events for new and prospective students. She is also vice president of TCC CARES, a student engagement club designed to help the community and the environment through service projects. Additionally, she serves the Virginia Beach Campus as vice president of the Student Government Association.

Lin has also been active in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic working with Virginia Beach Medical Reserve Corps during pop-up vaccination clinics. While there, she helped with medical records and monitoring patients.

“Community service benefits not just the one who receives the service, but also the one who does it,” she said. “It is also a way to connect with others and gain enormous amounts of knowledge that you could not learn in school.”

MLK scholar plans a lifetime of community service

Community service has become a way of life for Jiahuan Lin. She began volunteering in high school and has no intention of slowing down.

Jiahuan, 18, is the 2022 recipient of the Tidewater Community Colleges Martin Luther King Jr. student scholarship, which will be presented during a virtual ceremony on Feb. 25. The award, now in its 20^th year, is designed to recognize a student who best exemplifies Dr. King’s vision and philosophy in his call for unity and equality for all.

Jiahuan holds a 4.0 GPA and is working on an associate degree in general studies.

An Outstanding High School Scholar, Jiahuan serves as a TCC student ambassador and represents the college at open houses and other events for new and prospective students. She is also vice president of TCC CARES, a student engagement club designed to help others and the environment through service projects. Additionally, she serves the Virginia Beach Campus as vice president of the Student Government Association.

Jiahuan Lin at TCC's Virginia Beach Campus.

Jiahuan has also been active in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic working with Virginia Beach Medical Reserve Corps during pop-up vaccination clinics. While there, she helped with medical records and monitoring patients.

Through her participation in community service, she feels that there is a bigger picture than just giving her time. “I think I gain just not more friends and knowledge, but also bonds with the community and the society as a whole,” Jiahuan said.

Jiahuan lives in Virginia Beach with her family and her eight-month-old adopted kitten, Xiao Yu. She faced a good deal of culture shock after coming to the United States from China in 5^th grade, but now enjoys the mix of the two cultures.

Like other college students, she enjoys hanging out with friends, trying new foods and playing video games in her free time. Don’t be surprised if she offers you an opportunity to give back. “Now that I understand how important it is to volunteer, I always encourage people around me to do so as well,” she said.

Jiahuan is confident that community service will always be a part of her life. “I believe that volunteering has changed me a lot and I am certain I will still be doing it after I graduate from TCC,” Jiahuan added. “By volunteering, it feels like my community and society in general, are unbreakable.”

English professor awarded college’s MLK service award

Annette Mewborn is passionate about bringing people together and serving the community. She is the recipient of TCC’s 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award, which will be presented during a virtual ceremony on Feb. 25.

“I’m overwhelmed by this award and know that my service to the community stems from a passion my mother had to serve those in need. She inspired me and my sister to get involved in the community and we’ve been helping ever since.”

The English professor, who began working at the Virginia Beach Campus admissions office, joined the college in 1989.

For close to a decade, Mewborn organized Black History Month events on the Virginia Beach Campus to celebrate African American history and culture. The events included programs like “From the Root of It,” a look at hairstyles through the ages, as well as a historical review of “Motown Music.”

Annette Mewborn is TCC's MLK service award winner.

Mewborn was the advisor and mentor for the Student African American Brotherhood. She also produced an African American newsletter, Changes, to encourage students to publish their poetry, essays and articles.

And during the pandemic, she started The Novel Kids, a reading program for children to keep them engaged and learning in the summer months.

Mewborn is the recipient of a Teaching in Excellence award for 2021.

She encourages her TCC students to focus on the positive with the “good news” section in her online classes. And while she never planned to teach, she found her calling while a student at the college. She now holds a master’s degree in English and loves to see those light bulb moments, when students grasp the concepts she is teaching.

Mewborn is married to Larry Mewborn, Sr., and has two children, Larry Mewborn, Jr. and Katisa Mewborn-Smith. The couple has four grandchildren.

Leaders with purpose highlight TCC’s Black History Month virtual celebrations

Tidewater Community College celebrates Black History Month 2022 with a virtual presentation featuring Gina Paige, president of African Ancestry, Inc. The interactive conversation will be held on Feb. 23, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. To register for the event, visit here.

Paige co-founded African Ancestry, Inc. and in doing so, pioneered a new way of tracing African lineages using genetics. She created a new marketplace for people of African descent looking to trace their roots more accurately and reliably.

An industry pioneer, speaker and entrepreneur, Paige resides in Washington, D.C. and holds a degree in economics from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Paige was honored with an honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Global Oved Dei Seminary University.

The program will be followed by a question-and-answer session, moderated by ClauDean Kizart, TCC’s director of diversity, equity and inclusion.

The national theme for Black History Month 2022 is “Black Health and Wellness,” a theme underscoring the rich legacy of Black scholars, medical practitioners, and midwives to more recent initiatives focused on mental health for people of color.

TCC’s Black History Month celebration includes an assortment of virtual events throughout February. All events are open to the public.

Each year, Tidewater Community College honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during Black History Month with a distinguished service award to a TCC faculty or staff member and provides a scholarship to a TCC student. To view the 2022 honorees visit here.

For more information about Black History Month events, email Emily Hartman at ehartman@tcc.edu.

Black History Month Events

Feb. 2

Trivia Stream—Black History Month Edition
7 p.m. – Location: Virtual
Join us for a game show night streamed via Twitch TV complete with fun trivia questions, chat room engagement, secret words and up to $300 in prizes.

Feb. 9

Black History Month Movie: “Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges & Universities”
Noon – 1:30 p.m. – Location: Lobby – Norfolk Campus Student Center
Black colleges and universities have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field. They have been unapologetically Black for more than 150 years. For the first time ever, their story is told.

Feb. 15

Financial Management and Wealth Building Session
5:30 – 7 p.m. – Location: Virtual
TCC’s Student Resource and Empowerment Center and TowneBank present a teaching series about budgeting basics. Learn about predatory loans, common financial mistakes and top budgeting tips.

Feb. 16

Black History Month Movie: “Black America Since MLK and Still I Rise”
11 a.m. – 3 p.m. (several showings) – Location: Lobby – Norfolk Campus Student Center
This movie looks at the last five decades of African American history through the eyes of Henry Louis Gates Jr., exploring the tremendous gains and persistent challenges of these years. Drawing on eyewitness accounts, scholarly analysis, and rare archival footage, the series illuminates the past, while raising urgent questions about the future.

VCCS HBCU Virtual Transfer Showcase
6:30 p.m. – Location: Virtual
The VCCS Transfer Peer Group is hosting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) at this virtual transfer showcase. Attendees will engage with an alumni panel and representatives from Bowie State University; Elizabeth City State University; Hampton University; Howard University; Morgan State University; Norfolk State University; North Carolina A&T University; and Virginia State University.

Feb. 17

“Trivia Stream”—Black History Month
Noon – 1:30 p.m. – Location: Lobby – Norfolk Campus Student Center
Answer trivia questions pertaining to African American History and earn prizes.

Financial Management and Wealth Building Session
5:30 – 7 p.m. – Location: Virtual
TCC’s Student Resource and Empowerment Center and TowneBank present a teaching series about mortgage basics. Learn about home loans, managing credit and how to prepare for today’s housing market.

Feb. 22

“Mental Health First Aid with Chief Tyran Payne”
12:30 p.m. – Location: Virtual
Chief Payne is the police chief at Yavapai College in Arizona. He is a mental health first aid instructor and a dynamic leader. Payne is also a military veteran with PTSD who will be speaking about the personal and professional challenges of addressing mental health concerns

Feb. 23

Black History Month Movie: “Red Tails”
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Location: Lobby – Norfolk Campus Student Center
The movie highlights a squadron of Black pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen who were finally given the chance to prove themselves during World War II as they battled discrimination on the ground.

Feb. 24

Black History Month Mental Health & Wellness in the Black Community
Noon – 2 p.m. – Location: Lobby – Norfolk Campus Student Center
Joni Hursey-Wingate, Licensed Professional Counselor with TCC, will explore mental health challenges in the Black community. In addition, interventions will be offered to help students live healthier lives.

Black History Month Movie “Loving”
12:30 p.m. – Location: Virginia Beach Student Center – TV Lounge
“Loving” is a true story about a young couple’s interracial marriage in 1958 that sparks a case that leads to the Supreme Court. Based on the true story of Richard and Mildred Loving.

Feb. 25

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Virtual Awards and Recognition Program
Noon – 1:30 p.m. – Virtual
Featuring William E. Harrell, President and CEO of Hampton Roads Transit. TCC’s annual distinguished service award winner and a student scholar will be recognized.

Feb. 28

Prominent in Portsmouth with Ambassador Bismarck Myrick
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. – Virtual
Meet ambassador Bismarck Myrick during a video feature with live a Zoom meet and greet. Ambassador Myrick is the former United States Ambassador to Lesotho and Liberia.

Atumpan: The Talking Drums
7 – 8 p.m. – Location: Virtual
Join us as the Atumpan Dance Theatre Company shares their unique brand of educational entertainment. This fun and interactive experience will engage and amaze you.