Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major Award
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major Award is presented to a Wichita State University administrator, faculty, staff or student who seeks greatness, but does so through service and love. This award is presented annually by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion during the on-campus Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration.
An excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Drum Major Instinct speech states,
"If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace: I was a drum major for righteousness."
Past Drum Major Award Recipients
Drum Major Award Recipient of 2021
Dr. Selena Jackson, Psychologist, Counseling and Prevention Services
Dr. Selena Jackson is a psychologist and group coordinator in Counseling and Prevention Services. She earned her doctorate degree in combined Clinical and Counseling Psychology from the University of South Alabama. She completed her doctoral internship with WCPIP at Prairie View, Inc. as her primary site and the WSU CAPS as her secondary location. Dr. Jackson considers herself to be a generalist with special interest in working with international students, multicultural and diversity issues, anxiety/depression/stress, personality disorders, and relationship concerns. In her free time, she enjoys traveling overseas with family and friends, attending theatre productions, watching college football, trying out new recipes, and is an avid Harry Potter fan! She also has collaborated with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion multiple times with Real Talk - Intersection Dialogues and having monthly drop-in hours to meet with students.
Drum Major Award Recipient of 2020
Sheelu Surender, Director, Office of Financial Aid
Sheelu Surender is the director for the Office of Financial Aid at Wichita State University, where she leads an operation that administers over $100 million dollars annually in financial aid awards. She has been in the Office of Financial Aid in multiple roles for 18 years, having begun her career at Wichita State as a loan counselor. She is a member of several financial aid organizations, including the Kansas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the Rocky Mountain Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Her leadership at Wichita State University involves contribution in Strategic Enrollment Management and Women of Wichita State University. She also serves as an advisor to Student Ambassador Society. She loves the Wichita community and considers it a point of pride to have been part of the 2011 class of Leadership Wichita. Over the years, she has received many accolades and awards for her service and dedication to students, including the TRIO Building Bridges Award in 2013. She loves mentoring students and considers her direct engagement with students to be the greatest reward of her work.
Sheelu is a first-generation college graduate, who earned a B.A. in International Business and Business Administration from Friends University and an MBA from Wichita State University. Sheelu resides in Wichita with her husband, Ashok Surender, an assistant principal in USD 259.
Drum Major Award Recipient of 2019
Carmen Hytche, Director of Special Events and Community Relations, Strategic Communications
Carmen Hytche is director of special events and community relations in Strategic Communications. Multitasking is Carmen's middle name. On the average she plans and manages about 25 events per year and as irony would have it sometimes she juggles two in one day. She has worked for Wichita State University for 18 years and served the university in various capacities. During her tenure at WSU, she has been co-adviser for the Black Student Union for more than 13 years, two-time president for the Council of University Women and three-time co-chair for the Council of University Women's annual scholarship fundraiser. Over the years, Carmen has served on multiple search committees, and led and collaborated on projects with an exponential number of departments, faculty and staff from all areas of the university.
Drum Major Award Recipient of 2018
Carla Eckels, Director of Cultural Diversity, News & Engagement, KMUW
Carla Eckels is director of cultural diversity for news and engagement at KMUW. She's been an award-winning announcer/news producer for KMUW 89.1FM, Wichita Public Radio for 21 years. Carla also produces a R&B and gospel show Soulsations, Sunday nights at 6 on KMUW. She also hosted Joyful Sounds, a Sunday morning gospel radio show on Q92FM. Prior to KMUW, she was the local host for NPR's Morning Edition at WYSO public radio in Yellow Springs, Ohio and co-hosted a nationally syndicated Gospel Countdown Radio show in Cincinnati. Carla also was program director for KIBN, 90.7 The Inspirational Black Network in Wichita. Learn more about Carla Eckels.
Drum Major Award Recipient of 2017
Rocío Del Aguila, Assistant Professor of Spanish & Spanish Graduate Coordinator
Rocío has a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. She earned her BA in Linguistics and Literature from Universidad Católica del Perú. In addition, she took graduate courses in Education and Business Management.
Drum Major Award Recipient of 2016
Dr. Robert E. Weems, Jr., Willard W. Garvey Distinguished Professor of Business History
From 1999-2011, Weems was Professor of History at the University of Missouri, Columbia. A native of Chicago, Professor Weems received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His areas of specialization include African American History, African American Business History, and U.S. History. Learn more about Dr. Robert E. Weems, Jr.