天天吃瓜 has nominated Alicia Ozier as the Northeastern 2016 .
The student laureates will be honored at a Nov. 12 reception in the Hall of Representatives in Springfield at the Old State Capitol followed by a luncheon at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel.
鈥淲e need leaders who have a sense of community engagement,鈥 said Ozier, who will graduate in December with a . 鈥淭his honor recognizes that I am stretching my leadership capacity but also maintaining that connection to the grassroots community.鈥
The Order of Lincoln was established in 1964 by proclamation of Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner to honor individuals whose contributions to the betterment of humanity have been accomplished in Illinois or whose achievements have brought honor to the state.
After years of working at a community organization on the West Side of Chicago that provides education and health care to adolescents who are exposed to or living with HIV, Ozier decided she wanted to develop her skills to make a greater impact on her home city. She enrolled at Northeastern at the age of 39 and progressed at her own speed, even taking a two-year break from her studies to serve in the Peace Corps in Gambia.
鈥淣ortheastern has been very welcoming,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he space in which we learn is challenging and allowed me to bring my professional experiences into the classroom to validate what I knew but also refine and attempt to learn new approaches.鈥
Ozier has particularly enjoyed her studies at Northeastern鈥檚 Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.
鈥淭he Carruthers Center is so important to me as an African-American student,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he experience as a black student learning with a diverse body of students really refined my experiences from the Peace Corps. The professors allowed me to challenge what I thought I knew and gave me scholastic strength to be able to convey a style of leadership better than I had before.鈥
Now 48, Ozier is eager to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in social service administration.
鈥淚 really want to focus on global health and community development as an intervention for social wealth,鈥 she said.
