Staten Island, NY - Wagner business major and junior forward (women's basketball) Chanez Robinson will be one of two members of the Wagner College community to be honored with the Martin Luther King Jr. Agent of Change Award. Also being honored on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 6:00 p.m. in the Faculty Dining Room will be Professor Frank DeSimone, assistant professor of marketing.
The Wagner College Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Agent of Change Award is presented to agents of change within the Wagner College community who embody Dr. King’s vision of servant leadership and understands, that “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” The recipient must be a current Wagner College faculty, staff member, or student.
The keynote speaker for the program will be author, film historian and educator Ed Guerrero, an associate professor of cinema studies and Africana studies at New York University. In his books, “Framing Blackness” (Temple University Press, 1993) and “Do the Right Thing” (British Film Institute, 2008), Guerrero explores black cinema’s cultural, political and aesthetic history as well as its critical discourse.
Robinson, 6-0 redshirt junior forward and a transfer from Northeastern University, has seen action in all 17 of Wagner’s games this season. She earned the distinction of being an MLK Agent of Change Award Winner based on the time, commitment and effort she performs on behalf of disadvantaged youths in her native Newark, NJ.
“When Chanez decided to attend Wagner as a transfer student and I learned of the good work she does in her community, I thought ‘nobody fits the mission statement of Wagner College better than Chanez Robinson,’ said Seahawk head coach Gela Mikalauskas. “She really gives of herself completely, in as much of a capacity as a she can, to help others less fortunate than herself. She gives back to her community in a wonderful way by giving of herself.”
In a Nov. 22 story entitled “Wagner College's Chanez Robinson Leads by Example,” Robinson shares her experiences as a volunteer with a non-profit organization that uses sports as its foundation in instilling the youngsters with important life lessons and values.