Within reach

Bola Obdusga struggled while studying at UCI. He was working three jobs to afford going to school, had troubles at home and was fielding letters about not being able to maintain the level needed to graduate in his major.

Yet Sunday, as Obdusga stood in front of more than 900 people at the Ninth Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Concert at the Irvine Barclay Theater, he stood as the first black student to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from UCI and he partly credits his success to the scholarship he received, which was raised with the help of the celebration.

“Financially, stuff at home, class, (these) all weren’t really going well for me,” Obdusga said. “The scholarship helped to alleviate that burden.”

Sponsored by Christ Our Redeemer Church, the concert helps raise funds for the MLK scholarship which awards $1,000 and $5,000 scholarships to students. A ceremony in support of this cause has been carried out since 1999. In its first couple years, the event wasn’t much more than a luncheon filled with honorees and community members. When Ron Guyer took over as chairman of the program in 2000, he said the event really took off.

More than $100,000 has been raised through the program, which has helped more than 70 students graduate, according to Guyer.

“We use this holiday as an opportunity to raise money for the kids,” Guyer said. “Dr. King, before the civil rights, made an effort to make sure he was well educated, not knowing this was going to come to him, but when it did he was Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.”

Held much like a gospel church service, the event featured Bishop Noel Jones’ City of Refuge Sanctuary Choir as attendants stood, raised their hands, clapped and sang along. UCI fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha and sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha performed a spirited step show, and Dr. Linda Hammond, a UCI professor, and Mel Rogers, president of PBS station KOCE-TV, were honored as the woman and man of the year, respectively.

“It is very important to give back to the community,” said Hammond who is involved with various organization such as Habitat for Humanity. This concert “helps you to remember to think of how far we’ve come.”

Hammond pointed out the individuals of various cultural backgrounds who attended the event, many of whom are members at Christ Our Redeemer Church.

Rev. Mark Whitlock, of Christ Our Redeemer, reiterated the idea of moving forward.

The purpose of the scholarships, according to Whitlock, was to raise funds and bridge the gap, but was also to get students to “step across the graduation line.”

For Obdusga, he still has some stepping to do. He is now enrolled in a graduate program at Cal Poly Pomona. He urged others to keep stepping as well.

“This scholarship opens the doors up,” he said. “It gives people the chance to do what we are here to do — graduate.”

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at daniel.tedford@latimes.com.