Auburn student-athletes honored at State of Inclusion & Diversity event

AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn student-athletes received awards Thursday during Auburn University's annual State of Inclusion & Diversity event hosted by Auburn University's Office of Inclusion and Diversity.

Gymnast Ananda Brown, track and field's David Edmondson, football's Malcolm Johnson Jr. and Micah-Riley-Ducker and equestrian's Hallie Rush were honored for forming the Black Student-Athlete Council.

"We built it to serve others," said Johnson, a junior receiver. "Getting recognized for it is a beautiful feeling. It feels amazing for people to see the hard work that we're putting into it."

After attending a Black Student-Athlete Summit last year in Texas, Johnson and Rush founded Auburn's BSAC.

"The mission behind that is to empower, engage and educate everyone around us," Johnson said. "To create a cohesive environment for Black student-athletes to have conversations surrounding life, athletics and what it means to be Black."

The BSAC founders hope to grow the organization and identify younger teammates who will assume leadership positions after they've graduated.

"It's an honor and a privilege to be recognized for our efforts to engage Black student-athletes," Edmondson said. "To see everyone talk about their experience here and how much they've enjoyed getting to share that space with so many people, and getting to know people they wouldn't have before. Getting everybody together as a community really helped us."

Johnson also participated in a student panel with student leaders with a passion for diversity.
 
"A great discussion," he said. "I'm speaking for people who don't get a chance to speak. I feel like my purpose here is to serve."

Auburn Athletics academic counselor Khayla Lloyd earned an Inclusive Excellence Award in the faculty and staff category for demonstrating exceptional commitment to the advancement of diversity, equity and inclusion at Auburn University.

"I am humbled to receive the Inclusive Excellence Award and I would not be in this position without the commitment from the BSAC student-athletes," Lloyd said. "This award is an honor and further motivates me to continue advocating for our Black student-athletes to enhance their experience at Auburn."
 Dr. Taffye Benson Clayton and men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl co-chaired Auburn's Together We Will scholarship campaign

During the address by Dr. Taffye Benson Clayton, Auburn University's vice president and associate provost for inclusion and diversity highlighted the Together We Will scholarship campaign that she and Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl co-chaired.

Pearl, in the middle of hosting a recruiting visit, joined Benson Clayton on the stage to thank Auburn for supporting Together We Will's mission to support diverse enrollment at Auburn.

"This is a great celebration but this is just the beginning," Pearl said. "We've got to get out there and recruit. We can say we want you to be here, or we can show that we want you to be here.

"We're going to be able to compete and be a place where some of the best Black students in this country want to come be part of that Auburn family, and it's happening."

Auburn University - Office of Inclusion and Diversity

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer