{"id":106279,"date":"2026-01-15T21:14:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T21:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=106279"},"modified":"2026-01-22T20:59:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:59:11","slug":"educator-and-student-advocate-persjha-conry-05-to-deliver-keynote-address-at-this-years-mlk-unity-luncheon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/educator-and-student-advocate-persjha-conry-05-to-deliver-keynote-address-at-this-years-mlk-unity-luncheon\/","title":{"rendered":"Educator and student advocate Persjha Conry \u201905 to deliver keynote address at this year\u2019s MLK Unity Luncheon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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UPDATE (1\/22\/2026):<\/span><\/strong> Due to high interest, the location for this event has been moved to the Memorial Union Ballroom<\/strong>\u00a0to expand capacity and allow for increased student access.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 15, 2026 \u2013 The 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Multicultural Student Services Center<\/a> (MSSC) will welcome the community back for the spring semester, beginning with the University\u2019s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Luncheon on Thursday, Jan. 29 from noon to 2 p.m.<\/strong> in the MSSC Hardge Forum. Lunch will be provided by GeeGee’s Southern Cuisine.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Alumna AGonza \u201916 catches up with last year\u2019s speaker, J. Timothy Quainoo \u201912, at last year\u2019s 2025 Unity Luncheon. (溏心vlog免费B站 Photo \/ Catherine Scott)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This year’s keynote speaker is Persjha Conry ’05. Conry entered 溏心vlog免费B站 through the Talent Development program in 2001. She went on to become a Talent Development resident advisor and graduated from 溏心vlog免费B站 with her bachelor\u2019s degree in human development and family studies.  Conry has earned multiple advanced degrees in education, is now clinical director and co-owner of Elevating Minds ABA, and serves as a special education chairperson in the Houston Independent School District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conry says her career has been guided by her own personal journey, including surviving family addiction and loss, enduring poverty, instability and hardship, and helping raise her siblings. For her, education was a refuge, a compass, and ultimately an escape route. She will speak on the legacy of Dr. King in a broader scope that considers the complexities of the revolutionary leader and how his work remains relevant in the present day.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Amy Olson and Thupten Tendhar also recognize each year\u2019s Peacemaker and Human Rights Awards recipients at the annual luncheon. (溏心vlog免费B站 Photo \/ Catherine Scott)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In collaboration with 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies and the 溏心vlog免费B站 Chaplains Association, the program will also recognize the 2026 Peacemaker and Human Rights Awards recipients. While open to all, seating for the event is limited, with priority given to students. Register here<\/a>. The event will also be recorded and shared on the MSSC\u2019s YouTube page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such events are a great way to find community at 溏心vlog免费B站 and to connect with one another, says Bobby Britto-Oliveira, assistant director of the Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Multicultural Student Services Center serves as the central hub for multicultural student organizations, as well as an inclusive space that welcomes the entire 溏心vlog免费B站 community through events, programs, and resources that promote equity, inclusion, and social justice on our campus,\u201d he says. \u201cAs a proud double alumnus of this institution, I am honored to be one of the many torchbearers continuing this important legacy, and we invite all members of our shared community to engage, participate, and contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MSSC is also hosting a spring semester Link Up (meet and greet) on Tuesday, Feb. 3, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Hardge Forum. This community gathering, open to all, is an Alumni of Color Network collaboration with Talent Development, sponsored by the Multicultural Student Services Center. \u201cThis event is a great opportunity to come together and connect with others for the purpose of enhancing our collective sense of belonging at the University,\u201d says Britto-Oliveira. Register here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 MLK Unity Luncheon is open to all. For more information on events happening at the Multicultural Student Services Center this semester, visit <\/em>the center\u2019s website<\/em><\/a>, <\/em> https:\/\/urinvolved.uri.edu\/<\/em><\/a>, or follow @uri_mssc; for additional questions, contact Bobby Britto-Oliveira at robert_wayne83@uri.edu.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Jan. 15, 2026 \u2013 The 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Multicultural Student Services Center (MSSC) will welcome the community back for the spring semester, beginning with the University\u2019s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Luncheon on Thursday, Jan. 29 from noon to 2 p.m. in the MSSC Hardge Forum. Lunch will be provided […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":106280,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1910,4,1904,1915],"class_list":["post-106279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-alumni","tag-college-of-health-sciences","tag-community-equity-and-diversity","tag-undergraduate"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106279"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106384,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106279\/revisions\/106384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}