24th Annual MLK Celebration Leadership Award Recipient: Eto Otitigbe

Eto Otitigbe

’99

24th Annual MLK Leadership Award

Eto Otitigbe ’99, winner of the 1996 List Foundation Fellowship in the Arts, at the opening of his exhibition “The Suntoucher Tragedy: Woodcuts and Lithographs” at the Wiesner Student Art Gallery (October 1997) photograph by Gabor Csányi

MLK Leadership Awardee Eto Otitigbe '99 won the prestigious List Foundation Fellowship for the Arts and used it to pursue his studies at Wellesley College and the Printmaking Workshop in New York. An exhibition of his work was presented at the Weisner Student Art Gallery. He has organized an annual poetry slam for students from colleges in the area and a series of field trips to films and other cultural events.

"One of the greatest pleasures of my work at MIT is the opportunity to mentor students," wrote Maureen Costello, director of special programs. "Eto has far and away proved to be an exceptional student. There are days when I felt I have learned more from him."

Mr. Otitigbe of Albany, NY, the senior co-chair of Chocolate City, was a student speaker at last year's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Breakfast. The theme was "The Strength to Love" (the title of a collection of Dr. King's sermons). Mr. Otitigbe asked the audience: "If love were against the law, would you be guilty?"

Read more