insideOakwood: Honda Champions, Alumni Weekend 2017, Home Depot, Tom Joyner Foundation School of the Month, and more

Oakwood University's Honda All Stars Win Championship!

Pictured (standing, l-r) are David Knight, vice president of Student Services, Caleb Briggs, Joshua Nwaoho, Oliva Campbell, Mrs. Andrienne Matthews, assistant VP for Student Services.Seated (l-r) are Dr. Rennae Elliot, chairman of the Department of Communication, and Sesly Huerfano.

After 24 amazing rounds of play during the 2017 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge Championship in Torrance, California, the scholars from Oakwood University have emerged as National Champions. This is their third national title after consecutive wins in 2008 and 2009. Led by high scorer Sesly Huerfano (seated, right), the Ambassadors swept through the Championship series without a single loss! Bowie State University acquitted themselves capably as well, marking their first appearance in the Finals. Both teams exemplified the spirit of good sportspersonship and fair play.

The Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC) was established in 1989 to showcase the academic excellence of HBCU students, in which over 120,000 students have participated. HCASC is a great game and much more: players widen their scope of knowledge, learn teamwork, sportsmanship, travel and represent their schools, become friends with school officials, including presidents, bond with their fellow competitors and develop relationships that make them, as the HCASC motto says, "Friends for Life." These friends form a vast network of support during their school days and beyond.

Honda supports HBCUs because of their unique and critical role in higher education, helping millions of students achieve their dreams. More than $8 million in grants from Honda have provided support for scholarships, facility upgrades, and other investments to improve the student experience. Because of this win, Oakwood University will receive $75,000.

The Oakwood family welcomed the team back to campus at a rally on the lawn of the Eva B. Dykes Library on Wednesday afternoon.

Joshua, Caleb, Olivia and Sesly with the 2017 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge Championship Trophy. Oakwood University will also receive a $75,000 grant for this win.

Oakwood University Alumni Homecoming Weekend

The complete schedule of Alumni Homecoming Weekend activities is available on the Oakwood University Alumni Association's website, at http://www.oakwoodalumni.org/schedule.html.

We are looking forward to celebrating with the honored classes -- 1947, 1 957, 1967, 1977, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2007 and 2012 - the milestones that have been accomplished since graduation from Oakwood.

We pray that one day soon, we will reunite with each other on that great "Homecoming Day" when we will see our Jesus face to face.


Cynthia Powell-Hicks, '76, M.A., Ph.D. President, Oakwood University Alumni Association	Richard M. Hodnett, '07, MBA Assistant Director of ALumni Relations & Marketing Oakwood University

Let's Do This -- Again! Help Us Win the Home Depot Competition!

With your help, for the past four years, Oakwood has won top prizes in Home Depot's Retool Your School Campus Improvement Grant Program. The Retool Your School Program was established in 2010 to provide support for campus improvement projects to the nation's HBCUs. Since the program's inception, over $1 million dollars in grant money has been awarded for campus improvements.

Let's make this year #5!! Voting continues through April 16, 2017,at http://www.retoolyourschool.com .

Simply vote every day on every device, AND please use the hashtag #Oakwood_RYS17 on every post on all social media platforms, especially Twitter and Instagram.

Team Oakwood - we did this (and won) for the past four years. Let's show them we can do this again. #Giveme5OU! We thank you for your support!

39th Annual UNCF Gala to Feature Jonathan Butler

The 39th Annual UNCF Gala will feature the music of internationally renown recording artist Jonathan Butler. A special presentation to philanthropist/radio personality Tom Joyner is also scheduled.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 13, at the North Hall of Huntsville's Von Braun Center.

Online ticket sales are closed. Tickets will be available at the door for $75 ($35 for students with current ID).

WJOU Sharathon -- "Telling the Greatest Story Ever Told"

Praise 90.1 FM WJOU is in the middle of its annual on-air fundraising campaign. Monday's programming was a full day of praise testimonies, prayer requests, and of course, inspirational music. On-air guests throughout the week include WJOU on-air personalities Melissa Summers ("Morning Joy"), Ivy Starks ("Bread of Life"), Kenny Anderson ("2nd Chance"), and Anthonye Perkins ("Sunset to Sunset"), local pastors, Oakwood employees, former WJOU announcers, and friends.

The Sharathon is a great opportunity to renew one's commitment to this radio ministry as a Praise Partner, or becoming a Praise Partner for the first time. Donations will help to continue the station's outreach mission to our campus community, the Tennessee Valley, and our listeners around the world. The ministry of WJOU is also an important component of media training for students at Oakwood University.

Donations can be made at any time by visiting the website at www.wjou.org, or call the Sharathon hotline at (256) 726-7444 during business hours. Even after the Sharathon is completed on April 14, online donations can be accepted around the clock.

Thanks in advance for your prayers and Praise Partner support of the Tennessee Valley's Praise Station, WJOU 90.1 FM.

Oakwood University is the Tom Joyner Foundation School of the Month for April, 2017

Oakwood University is the Tom Joyner Foundation School of the Month for April 2017. Every dollar will be matched to give scholarships to our students.

There are several ways you can donate to help us reach our $40,000 goal:

Text OakwoodU to 41444

Online: tomjoynerfoundation.org/donate -- keyword Oakwood U

Mailing Address: Tom Joyner Foundation, P.O. Box 630495, Irving, TX 75063

Social Work Students Volunteer at National Symposium

While volunteering at the 34th International Symposium on Child Abuse, Oakwood students from the Eta Pi National Honor Society ( Social Work 's National Honor Society) paused for a photo opportunity. The symposium, sponsored by the National Children Advocacy Center in Huntsville, is one of the few conferences that addresses all aspects of child maltreatment, including, but not limited to, physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, exposure to violence, poly-victimization, exploitation, intervention, trafficking, and prevention. The symposium took place in Huntsville from March 27 to 30.

About Oakwood

The mission of Oakwood University, a historically black, Seventh-day Adventist institution, is to transform students through biblically-based education for service to God and humanity.