MLK scholar plans a career in nursing

Hakeem Folahan Akinleye was inspired by the work of Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. while growing up in Nigeria. He relocated to the United States with his parents in the fall of 2021 and started at Tidewater Community College the following spring.

“The ideals of Dr. King influenced me greatly. He was a great man who knew that if you want change you have to let your voice be heard,” Akinleye said. “He is one of the reasons I study hard and keep my grades up. I want to have an informed voice and help bring change where I can.”

Hakeem, 20, is the 2023 recipient of TCC’s Martin Luther King Jr. student scholarship, which will be presented during a ceremony on Jan. 17 at the Portsmouth Campus Student Center. The award, now in its 21st 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.

“This award is going to have a huge impact on my life. It instills an even greater desire to do more for the next person,” he said.

“One thing I learned from Dr. King is that there is always a chance to do better. All it takes is determination and hard work and togetherness and we can make things as right as we want them to be.”

Hakeem holds a 4.0 GPA and is working on an Associate of Science in Science.

Hakeem helps his classmates as a science and math tutor. He also serves on the Student Government Association and helps with Portsmouth Campus events.

Future plans for Hakeem include nursing school and career dedicated to making a difference in the community.

“I have always been invested in the health sciences since I was little, and my interest only grows by the day. Also, considering how there are very few black male nurses in the country, I wish to try and change that,” Akinleye said. “I also feel like I’m representing my family by pursuing a career dedicated to helping people.”

Hakeem says his family is his biggest supporter. “My mom has always believed in me and pushed me. My brother also helps me and my dad motivates me to do better,” Akinleye said. “My extended family supports me, too, and they are all very proud. I am humbled and honored by it all.”

TCC announces 2023 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 2023 recipients are:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award: Chuck Thomas — Fitness, recreation and special events coordinator at the Portsmouth Campus.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Award: Hakeem Folahan Akinleye, a TCC student working toward an Associate of Science in Science.

The two will be honored during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards event on Jan. 17 at 9 a.m. at the Portsmouth Campus Student Center. The event theme is “It Starts with Me: Cultivating a Beloved Community Mindset to Transform Unjust Systems” and the guest speaker is Dr. Kelvin E. Turner, pastor of the historic Zion Baptist Church in Portsmouth and a member of TCC’s MLK steering committee.

Chuck Thomas
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award

Chuck Thomas has a gift for inspiring students. He is the fitness, recreation and special events coordinator at the Portsmouth Campus Student Center. He is also the unofficial cheerleader for anyone who comes through the doors.

Thomas grew up learning the values of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from his mom. “She did her best raising me and my seven sisters on her own,” Thomas said. “Mom didn’t have much money, but she taught us important lessons for life.”

As TCC’s 2023 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award honoree, Thomas has dedicated his life to service.

“Growing up in Georgia, mom would have us listen to Dr. King and then give a report on what we learned. The things I heard were non-violence, peace, love, respect, dignity and equality,” Thomas said. “As I got older, I realized what those words meant and that’s how I treat anyone walking through our doors – with dignity, respect, customer service and getting them what they need.”

The reason he gives back to the community is that he remembers when he was on the receiving end of people’s kindness. “My teachers and mentors were my guides because I didn’t have a father,” Thomas said. “Now I’m paying it forward and inspiring students to do their best in school and to be active with their physical fitness because that’s a key to reducing stress.”

Thomas was instrumental in establishing the Community Feed at TCC on the Portsmouth Campus. Thomas worked from the ground up preparing the space. “Launching the Community Feed was the proudest moment in my career,” he said. “There is such a need for food and TCC is on the front lines meeting urgent needs.”

Thomas also developed “Fit to Feed,” a program that combines fitness with the benefits of the Community Feed. He also participated at “Champions for Change,” a program for young men that provides resources, connections to jobs, and a lot of conversations about dignity and respect.

When he is not mentoring students, Thomas helps senior citizens with their fitness. He started a chair exercise program in his neighborhood and even helped one resident recover from a knee replacement.

“What my mom instilled in me all those years ago has paid off in my adult life. I’m humbled and honored by this award,” he said.

He added, “We are at a time when there is a lot of separation with people. Dr. King made sure we worked through differences and brought people back together. This message is more important now than ever. His work is paying off generations later.”

Thomas sends a shout-out to his mom, Mary Lue, and his wife, Keri Anne, for their part in his success. “When everything is good at home, you feel like you can conquer the world and I’m grateful for all they have done for me.”

Hakeem Folahan Akinleye
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Award

Hakeem Folahan Akinleye was inspired by the work of Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. while growing up in Nigeria. He relocated to the United States with his parents in the fall of 2021 and started at Tidewater Community College the following spring.

MLK scholar Hakeem, 20, continues a long tradition of service to others. The award, now in its 21st 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.

“This award is going to have a huge impact on my life. It instills an even greater desire to do more for the next person,” he said.

Hakeem holds a 4.0 GPA and is working on an Associate of Science in Science.

Hakeem helps his classmates as a science and math tutor. He also serves on the Student Government Association and helps with Portsmouth Campus events.

Future plans for Hakeem include nursing school and a career dedicated to making a difference in the community.

Hakeem says his family is his biggest supporter. “My mom has always believed in me and pushed me. My brother also helps me, and my dad motivates me to do better,” Akinleye said. “My extended family supports me, too, and they are all very proud. I am humbled and honored by it all.”

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.”

“I can’t think of anything that means more to me” – Professor Gabriela Christie Toletti

Professor Gabriela Christie Toletti, Ph.D. was profoundly affected by the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a student of English and American culture in her native Uruguay.

As a young adult she recalls memorizing King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and taking to heart his message of justice and equality for all people.

Her time of study at the bi-national center, Alianza Cultural, which is part of the U.S. Embassy in Uruguay, launched her lifelong pursuit of service to others.

This month, Toletti was selected as Tidewater Community College’s 2021 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award recipient. She will be recognized during a virtual event to be held Feb. 26.

“I can’t think of anything that means more to me,” she said. “Dr. King’s ideals of freedom, diversity, justice and inclusion for all have always been ingrained in what I do.”

Toletti teaches Spanish and is the liberal arts chair at TCC’s Norfolk Campus. She considers teaching a calling and one of the best ways to provide service to the community.

“There’s no greater accomplishment than helping others learn and grow, and being able to inspire, educate and guide the next generation,” Toletti said. “Some of my early students have now become teachers, so they are paying it forward and serving in their communities.”

Toletti is active on campus serving on the Governance Global and Intercultural Learning Committee; the Transfer Virginia Project with Virginia’s Community Colleges; as a member of the My Thoughts, My Voice, My Arts Committee (MTMVMA); and on the college’s Compressed Sessions Committee.

She encourages students and community members by sharing remarks through MTMVMA events, International Education Week programs, the Women’s Center and business groups. She developed videos about the college’s liberal arts programs for TCC’s social media channels. She also delivered scholarly presentations for college convocation week and TCC learning institutes.

Additionally, Toletti is on the board of directors of the Uruguayan American foundation with headquarters in Washington, D.C. The group provides help to children in underprivileged regions in Uruguay in the areas of health, education and technology.

Toletti says her parents, Ludovico Toletti and Zulema Altieri, instilled in her a respect for diversity. “Growing up we travelled to Europe, North Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay,” she said. “Through that travel, I developed a fondness for other cultures and communities.”

An author, Toletti has written two research books including “On the Scene with Migration and Dictatorship: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Work of Uruguayan Playwright Dino Armas.”

She is currently writing a bilingual children’s book, “Chorro the Dune Dog,” that explores issues of immigration, diversity, health, education and growing up in a multicultural family.

Toletti resides in Norfolk with husband Charles “Chuck” Cody Christie, Jr. and their pets.

“As the first Latina woman recipient, I’m deeply humbled by this honor,” Toletti said. “It also comes with great responsibility as I pledge to continue to work for equality, justice, inclusion and diversity in every area of my life.”

MLK scholarship winner’s history of giving dates back to kindergarten

For Shanice Mills, giving back isn’t an idea reduced to special times and holidays.

It’s woven into her life, partly because that’s how her grandparents raised her and also because she knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end.

“You never know when you’re going to need help,” said Mills, recipient of Tidewater Community’s College’s 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship, which will be awarded on Feb. 22 at a ceremony at the Portsmouth Campus Student Center.

In kindergarten, Mills watched her best friend struggle with proper handwriting. She brought stencils to school as a guide.

“I taught him how to write correctly, to be more legible,” she said. “Next thing I know, my teacher is taking me around, telling people, ‘You wouldn’t believe what she did. She helped Timothy learn how to write!’ I was just being me.”

Mills, 19, remembers accompanying her grandmother to the food pantry at their Chesapeake church to donate nonperishables. She also remembers a visit to the pantry shortly before her 10^th birthday when they were the ones in need. They left with groceries and a cake with pink icing that read “Happy Birthday.”

These days, Mills participates in “Good Works Sundays” at Point Harbor Community Church in Western Branch. Regularly, the church divides volunteers into groups and sends them into the community for projects. On a recent Sunday, she found herself painting and talking with veterans at an apartment building in need of refurbishment.

“They’re just normal people going through a hard time,” Mills said. “You never know when the tables will turn on you.”

The Nansemond River High graduate is in her second semester at TCC, working toward an Associate of Applied Science in Funeral Service. That’s a program that also speaks to her desire to give back.

“I want to help people on their worst day,” said Mills, who holds a 4.0 GPA.

Learning about Martin Luther King Jr., has resonated with her as long as she can remember. Mills has been bullied for everything from her hair to the darkness of her skin. A friend of hers committed suicide after suffering relentless online bullying. Mills initiated a social media campaign denouncing cyberbullying afterward.

“I wish there could be a change,” she said. “Martin Luther King talked about social justice and not judging people by the color of their skin. He paved the way for everybody. If he didn’t do what he did, I might not be sitting here today.”