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MLK Scholarships & Awards

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Essay Scholarship Contest

FIU invites you to apply for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Essay Scholarship Contest. The MLK Scholarship Contest is open to matriculating students with 75 credits or less who are US citizens or permanent residents.

Applicants must submit a 500-word original essay centered on the theme "Daring to Dream: The Radical Imagination of a New Generation", also demonstrating knowledge of the life, work and ideals of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • First Place Award: $2,000 toward tuition, a $1,000 meal plan + a $500 book advance
  • Second Place Award: $1,500 toward tuition, a $1,000 meal plan + a $500 book advance
  • Third Place Award: $1,000 toward tuition, a $1,000 meal plan + a $500 book advance

Application process closed. 

Winners will be featured in a video and need to sign a Talent Release Waiver.

For more information please call (305) 348-2436.

MLK Scholarship Winners

  • 2023

    1st Place MLK Essay Winner - Leonardo Luna

    2nd Place MLK Essay Winner - Mantashah Bawany

    3rd Place MLK Essay Winner - Darlingcy Mesidor

  • 2022

    1st Place MLK Essay Winner - Amanda Manuel

    2nd Place MLK Essay Winner - Stephanie Jean-Charles

    3rd Place MLK Essay Winner - Janae Newman

  • 2020

    1st Place MLK Essay Winner - Joshua Lovo Morales

    2nd Place MLK Essay Winner - Frederic Aurelien

    3rd Place MLK Essay Winner - Jason Carranza

  • 2019

    1st Place MLK Essay Winner - Arijana Zagic

    2nd Place MLK Essay Winner - Pnina Leah Aaronson

    3rd Place MLK Essay Winner - Melanie Rodriguez

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. IG Video Challenge

FIU is proud to host the MLK Instagram Video Challenge. The challenge is open to FIU students.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Open to all FIU student organizations
  • Applicants must submit a video centered on the theme “Beyond Boundaries:  Intersecting Struggles and Shared Visions,” also demonstrating knowledge of the life, work and ideals of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The submission must start off with some version of the "Beyond Boundaries" phrase. (i.e. "I dare to go beyond boundaries by..." "This is how I dare to go beyond boundaries..." "Every day, we are going beyond boundaries by...")
  • This challenge will open on Jan. 8, 2024, and run through Jan. 31, 2024 (only videos submitted during that timeframe will qualify).
    • All applicants must submit a video post through Instagram.
    • The submission must be uploaded as an Instagram Reel.
    • The submission must be 30 seconds to 2 minutes in duration.
    • The submission caption must tag our office: @FIU_OSJI
    • The submission caption must contain the hashtag #FIUMLK2024 or #FIUMLK
    • Do not use copyrighted material.
Award
  • Award winner(s) will be notified in February 2024 via the Instagram account the video was submitted through.

Below are the winners of the 2021 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Video Challenge.

If you are enriched by their hard work, please support and share these winning videos.

1st Place I Have A Dream II

Winners: Laura Benzant, Karina Candelario, DaJaun Alphonse, Manouchka Daveus & Larissa Woerdings

2nd Place Stronger Together

Winner: Sophia (Sophy) Jaimes

 

3rd Place All Lives Can't Matter Until Black Lives Do!

Winners: Fabian Osorio, Koby Baptiste, Cynthia Pavon & Daniel Segarra

Video not available

MLK Peace and Service Award

MLK Peace Award

Submit Nomination for the Peace Award here

November 1st is the deadline for all nominations!!

MLK Peace Award is open to all FIU enrolled students and meant to honor FIU Panthers that promote social justice and represent the ideals of Dr. King

Students must meet the following requirements:

  • Have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above
  • Be involved in extracurricular activities both on and off campus that promote social justice and represent the ideals of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The award is $250, an MLK Medallion, and Recognition at the MLK Commemorative Celebration. Nominations. Self-nominations are acceptable.

 

MLK Service Award

MLK Service Award is open to all FIU faculty and staff and meant to honor individuals that show considerable community service and provide exemplary service. The award is $250 and an MLK Medallion. Self-nominations are acceptable.

To apply for the Service Award click here

November 1st is the deadline for all nominations!!

FIU Faculty, A&P, and USPS employees must meet the following requirements:

  • Exemplify the goals and ideals of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Show considerable involvement in community service

The award is $250, an MLK Medallion, and Recognition at the MLK Commemorative Celebration. Nominations have been will be due on a date to be announced later.

Past winners

  • 2023

    2023 MLK Peace Award Winner - Ashley Perez

    2023 MLK Service Award Winner - Judge Phyllis Diane Kotey

  • 2022

    2022 MLK Peace Award Winner - Vanessa Rolle

    2022 MLK Service Award Winner - Dr. Carleen Vincent-Robinson

  • 2020

    2020 MLK Peace Award Winner - Ti Ti Nguyen

    2020 MLK Service Award Winner - Pamela Lopez Del Carmen

  • 2019

    2019 MLK Peace Award Winner - Isra Abrahim Amin

    I am self-nominating myself to share with the committee what I aspire and hope to achieve at FIU, South Florida, and beyond. My name is Isra Amin Ibrahim. I am Muslim Black student, activist, and community organizer. The ideals of social justice promoted by Rev. Martin Luther King speak to the daily struggles and achievements of oppressed people wherever they are and however they come. As an FIU student, I co-founded the first Muslim chaplaincy office, Muslims at FIU, in the state of Florida of a public university. My vision was to provide Muslim student’s access to a Muslim chaplain as part of the Multifaith board. The purpose was to work cohesively with FIU Muslim students, the Muslim World Studies program, and collaborate with the Muslim organizations working to push for civil rights. I was also FIU's 2016 TEDx student speaker where I spoke about the intersections of my identity as a daughter of immigrants, a Black woman, and a Muslim, and illuminating the ways where people connect to advance interfaith and multicultural understandings of one another. I am also a 2018-2019 Young People for (YP4) fellow, a national class of young leaders and activists, working to create Blueprints for Social Justice for civil rights, gender liberation, and spiritual resistance. As an FIU student leader today, it is my wish to create an FIU student social justice coalition on campus to work with the administration and Student Government to communicate the broader needs of our most marginalized student groups for greater resources.