Berea College seniors Ashonti Davis and Crystal Hampton each received a Dr. William C. Parker Achievement Award during the recent Kentucky Association of Blacks in Higher Education (KABHE) Annual Conference hosted by Berea.

Ashonti Davis

The award, which includes a $500 scholarship, is named for Dr. William C. Parker, the first president of KABHE. It is given annually to a student in honor of Dr. Parker’s contributions to higher educational excellence and equity as well as to acknowledge his love for students and people. Recipients are nominated by members of the KABHE and must be full-time students at an institution of higher education in Kentucky.

Davis is a communication major from Nashville, Tenn. In addition to being an outstanding student academically, she has been active in a variety of service activities at Berea. She is a member of the student environmental organization HEAL (Helping Earth and Learning), serves as a peer mentor in the local middle school and volunteers office help weekly at Mountain Maternal Clinic in Berea. She also is a member of the College’s Speech and Debate Team, placing third overall in this year’s state competition. She is a member of Mortar Board and Lambda Pi Theta academic honor societies. Following graduation, Davis plans to pursue a law degree.

Hampton, a business major from Birmingham, Ala., will graduate this May. She has been named to the Dean’s List at Berea for six of her eight semesters at Berea and has been involved in a variety of service and extracurricular activities. She has served as Black Student Union secretary; member, chaplain and spiritual sign language coordinator with the Black Music Ensemble, and has been active in residence hall and college-wide student government. She is also a news writer for the Pinnacle student newspaper and for three years has tutored students at Berea Community School in math, reading and science. Following graduation, Hampton plans to join the Teach for America program while pursuing an advanced degree in non-profit management and urban development.