Oak Creek Student Wins MCTS Rosa Parks Tribute Scholarship

OAK CREEK, WI — An Oak Creek High School student won a $1000 scholarship for an essay she submitted to the 2nd annual Milwaukee County Transit System Rosa Parks Tribute Scholarship essay competition.

Emily Odenkirks's essay was selected out of 102 submissions from 26 high schools across Milwaukee County, according to an MCTS news release. MCTS announced the winners on Feb. 4, Rosa Parks' birthday.

The second annual contest welcomed high school seniors who will attend a trade school, college or university to submit a short essay inspired by Parks' quote: "Each person must live their life as a model for others."

Odenkirk's essay found inspiration in Parks' work to make the world a more just place, according to the MCTS news release. She plans on majoring in political science to support legislative change for social justice.

In hopes of stopping the injustices that have come to light during the pandemic, Odenkirk volunteers for political candidates who share her commitment, the news release said.

Parks, who was arrested in December of 1955 because she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery Alabama to a white man, helped to spark a Supreme Court ruling that outlawed public transportation segregation. MCTS honors parks each year on December 1 by reserving a seat on every bus for her.

"I was struck by the very moving essays and the heartfelt stories each student shared. It made the decision-making process very challenging," Donna Brown-Martin, director of the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation, said in the news release.