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By Chelsea Collins

 

AMERICUS – Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) will host its 43rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation in the GSW Student Success Center Convocation Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 11 a.m. with GSW alumnus Brandon Blue serving as keynote speaker. This year’s theme for the convocation is “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community.”

Blue, a retention specialist at Chattahoochee Valley Community College, graduated from GSW with his bachelor’s degree in psychology in May 2022. As a student, he was active as a leader across numerous organizations, having served as a Storm Spotter, Zephyr, Marshal, co-founder and student director of Thunder Camp, co-director and chaplain of Gospel Choir, and president of GSW’s Student Government Association. In August 2019, Blue established Student Ablaze Campus Ministry, GSW’s first African American nondenominational campus ministry. The organization hosted GSW’s first Prayer Shut-in and Revival on the Lawn.

Blue also served as a member of the MLK Convocation Committee, which plans and organizes the annual event. As a committee member, he led the invocation and instituted the first MLK Panel Discussion, which allowed community members, faculty, staff and students to gather and discuss the challenging topics of race, culture and communication. Blue says he view King as a role model and catalyst of leadership.

Blue and his wife Lauren met during their time on GSW’s campus and are expecting a daughter, Anna Jo’el, to arrive February 12. They currently reside in Columbus, Ga. and both attend and serve at the Sword of The Lord Churches Int’l in Newnan, Ga.

The MLK Convocation is sponsored by the African American Male Institute (AAMI), GSW’s Division of Business and Finance, GSW MLK Convocation Committee, GSW Gospel Choir, National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), Strong United Assertive Virtuous Educated Women (SUAVE), Division of Student Engagement and Success (SES), and Student Government Association (SGA).