Santa Monica High School Students Earn Martin Luther King Awards

SANTA MONICA, CA — Two Santa Monica High School students were among six young people honored Monday with awards from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Westside Coalition.

Each year, the coalition invites schools, churches and youth groups to encourage their college freshmen and high school seniors to submit an essay, poem or other creative work that exemplifies the “Six Principles of Nonviolence” found in King's "Stride Toward Freedom."

The awards are supported by endowments established in memory of local community activists and managed by the Santa Monica College Foundation.

This year's recipients were Joseph Burney and Ijeoma Oko of Alexander Hamilton High School; Mina Loy Checel of New West Charter Plus School; Grace Farris of El Segundo High School; and Joshua Lesley and Ananda Searcy of Santa Monica High School.

Here'e more about the Santa Monica High School winners, with information provided by Santa Monica College:

"Lesley, a 17-year-old senior at Santa Monica High School who values family and community, received the Lillie Bell Blakley Award. This award is given in honor of Lillie Bell Blakley, whose passion to 'keep moving forward' is apparent in her family’s multigenerational commitment to education and service, which includes her son and former Mayor of Santa Monica Nathaniel Trives, as well as her granddaughter, Dr. Toni Trives, former chair of the SMC Modern Languages and Cultures Department. Joshua is involved in various school activities. He is Parliamentarian for the Black Student Union, which is also a community he is grateful to turn to during stressful times or just when he needs help. Joshua plays football and runs track as outlets for managing his stress. He has also served as the Track Team Captain. Outside of school, he is the vice president of the Youth Leadership Council at the Police Activities League. Joshua plans to attend Santa Monica College and major in finance. He then plans to transfer to UCLA or USC to pursue entrepreneurship."

"Searcy — a senior student-athlete at Santa Monica High School — was presented a Santa Monica/Westside Legacy Fund for Women and Girls Award. This award was supported by a generous donation from the Santa Monica/Westside Legacy Fund for Women and Girls. Ananda is all about empowerment and making a difference. She is the Treasurer of the Black Student Union, and serves as Treasurer for her city’s Our Girls Rock Young Women Empowerment Program. It is important to Ananda to uplift her peers and create spaces where they can all thrive. She is also heavily involved in sports. She managed her school’s football team and will be managing the basketball team. Ananda is really interested in sports psychology and clinical psychology. She dreams of playing professional flag football in college and beyond and is aiming for the 2028 Olympics. She has been accepted to Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri, where she plans to blend her love for sports with her academic interests."