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- Title:
- Chana Lawson interview
- Interviewee:
- Lawson, Chana
- Interviewer:
- Hua, Joan, 1989-
- Date Created:
- 2020-01-22
- Role:
- Community member; Alumni; Staff
- Department:
- School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Science; Alumni Relations
- Subjects:
- military student parent community outreach mentorship diversity youth services Black Student Union (BSU) student organization MLK Jr. Unity Breakfast Emily Ignacio Luther Adams Michael Honey September 11 Martin Luther King Jr. Black Collective Joint Base Lewis–McChord (JBLM)
- Biography:
- Chana Lawson (b. 1969) was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She worked in insurance and the airline industry before attending University of Washington Tacoma from 2005 to 2007. She received her bachelor's degree with a major in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and two minors in Nonprofit Management and Education from UW Tacoma, as well as a master's degree in Organizational Leadership from Chapman University. When she was an undergraduate student at UW Tacoma, she lived in Puyallup, Washington, was a parent of two children, and worked full time at Northwest Airlines. She became active on campus as a leader in the Black Student Union and a mentor to younger students. She was one of the officers who organized the inaugural Unity Breakfast, now an annual community event celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., Day on the UW Tacoma campus. She remained closely connected to the community after graduation, serving on the Alumni Council and other groups. In 2020, she became the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving at UW Tacoma. She is a recipient of the City of Destiny Award for Equity and Empowerment.
- Description:
- Chana Lawson discusses her various connections and experiences with UW Tacoma in this interview. She begins by explaining her background as a military wife, student parent, and airline employee and her motivation to complete her bachelor's degree at UW Tacoma. She recalls the time when UW Tacoma became a four-year university, which coincided with her time as a student. She says having freshmen and younger students on campus drove her to become more involved in cultivating a community. Later in the interview, she discusses in further detail her involvement with the Black Student Union and her work to establish the very first MLK Unity Breakfast, rallying the support of campus and community organizations as well as faculty and administrators.
- Location:
- United States--Washington (State)--Tacoma
- Type:
- Sound; Text; StillImage
- Format:
- cpd
- Preferred Citation:
- University of Washington Libraries, University of Washington Tacoma Library, UWTOH202003