ST. LEO FL ¬ The community is invited to Saint Leo University’s celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Tuesday, January 16.
The university will celebrate A Day On, Not Off, a spoken word event featuring Oveous, who has earned standing ovations on HBO shows and late night TV. He has won multiple times on “Showtime at the Apollo,” and is a three-time national poetry contest finalist.
Oveous was able to turn his brother’s suicide into a global mission for mental healing and providing an uplifting message for all people through his spoken word performances.
Saint Leo’s event will be 5 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, January 16, in the Student Community Center boardrooms. Oveous “will touch on topics related to Dr. King such as the civil rights movement, poverty, hunger, and homelessness,” said Krystal Sanchez, assistant director of Greek Life & Community Engagement.
A candlelight vigil, hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, will follow the performance.
The events are free and open to the public. Parking is available in the campus garage, and in the evening is also often available in surface lots. The campus is at 33701 State Road 52, St/ Leo, four miles east of Interstate 75 (Exit 285).
In addition, Saint Leo’s Office of Student Activities is partnering with Feeding Children Everywhere on January 12, to serve 70,000 meals to the Tampa Bay community to help eradicate hunger and poverty, in memory of King.
“Saint Leo University is honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by continuing his legacy of service and social responsibility,” Sanchez said. “By partnering with Feeding Children Everywhere, it is our hope that Saint Leo Lions will understand their role in being responsible stewards and engaging with our local community.”
Student volunteers will work 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday, January 12, in the boardrooms, scooping and pouring lentils, white rice, dehydrated vegetables, and pink Himalayan salt to form jambalaya mixes.
For more information or special accommodations, contact Krystal Sanchez at krystal.sanchez@saintleo.edu.
About Saint Leo University
Saint Leo University (www.saintleo.edu) is a modern Catholic teaching university that is firmly grounded in the liberal arts tradition and the timeless Benedictine wisdom that seeks balanced growth of mind, body, and spirit. The Saint Leo University of today is a private, nonprofit institution that creates hospitable learning communities wherever students want to be or need to be, whether that is a campus classroom, a web-based environment, an employer’s worksite, a military base, or an office park. Saint Leo welcomes people of all faiths and of no religious affiliation, and encourages learners of all generations. The university is committed to providing educational opportunities to the nation’s armed forces, veterans, and their families. Saint Leo is regionally accredited to award degrees ranging from the associate to the doctorate, and the faculty and staff guide all students to develop their capacities for critical thinking, moral reflection, and lifelong learning and leadership.
The university remains the faithful steward of the beautiful lakeside University Campus in the Tampa Bay region of Florida, where its founding monks created the first Catholic college in the state in 1889. Serving more than 13,000 students, Saint Leo has expanded to downtown Tampa, to other sites in Florida and beyond, and maintains a physical presence in seven states. The university provides highly respected online learning programs to students nationally and internationally. More than 90,000 alumni reside in all 50 states, in Washington, DC, in three U.S. territories, and in 76 countries.
Media Contact: Mary McCoy, University Writer & Media Relations, mary.mccoy02@saintleo.edu, (352) 588-7118 or cell (813) 610-8416