Senior economics major Ene Priscilla Idoko, president of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s African American Studies Club, recently was honored with the Oshkosh 94 Leadership Award at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration and Awards Program.
The Oshkosh 94 Student Leadership Award was created through a project to commemorate Black Thursday, the Nov. 21, 1968 protest by African American students attending UW Oshkosh. The protest resulted in mass arrests and expulsion of 94 students.
Ene Priscilla Idoko
The Oshkosh 94 award recognizes students who continue efforts to advance the standing and enhance the experiences of African American students at UWO. It also acknowledges students who have demonstrated leadership in promoting equity, inclusion and social justice for African Americans.
“The scholarship means that someone believes in my goals and has contributed to creating the path for me to reach those goals,” said Idoko, who transferred to UWO from a university in Nigeria.
Idoko has advocated for the African American Studies minor with the goal of the academic program someday becoming a major at UWO. She also has championed a number of activities, events and fundraising projects for the club, including effort to plan and promote Black History Month in February. She has a passion to grow the club and make the voices of African American heard at UWO.
In addition, Idoko is co-vice president of the Economics Student Association and a member of the Black Student Union and the International Students Association.
“Ene Priscilla has demonstrated her commitment to helping African American students through her involvement in campus groups, programs and active leadership at UW Oshkosh,” said Sheila Knox, a member of the Oshkosh 94. “I have met her and find her to be personable, kind, considerate, full of energy and a role model for all.”
Knox added that Idoko has been inspired by the Oshkosh 94 “to strive for excellence in everything she does and to be bold when faced with adversities.”
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