EOP Alumni Make Celebration a Success

OMA&D and the Friends of the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) held the 40th annual Celebration at the Husky Union Building Ballroom in May. Celebration is a banquet and scholarship fundraiser that honors the academic excellence of EOP students and champions of diversity, and includes the annual presentation of the Charles E. Odegaard Award. The event was attended by more than 400 community members, business patrons and university representatives.

Ahndrea Blue, '92	Cameron Wong, '93
Angela King, '95	Nate Miles, '82

The success of Celebration 2010 would not have been possible without the services of four outstanding EOP Alumni: Ahndrea Blue, ‘92, Cameron Wong, ’93, Angela King, ’95, and Nate Miles, ’82.

Ahndrea Blue and Cameron Wong were co-emcees for the nearly two-hour program. They ran the show from start to finish, introducing UW Interim President Phyllis Wise, Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange, Wells Fargo Washington Regional President Patrick Yalung and FEOP Board President Carol Bailey.

Blue also was an emcee for OMA&D’s expert panel discussion Diversifying Our Professional Workforce last February. She is the president and CEO of Pinnacle Equities Investments and founder, president and CEO of The Making a Difference Foundation. Wong was in his element as emcee, having formerly worked as an anchor with FSN (Fox Sports Net). He is currently a senior account executive with the Washington ISP Sports Network.

Another TV personality, Angela King, was the narrator for two short films that were shown during the program. These films highlighted the achievements of the 2010 Charles E. Odegaard Award recipient, Nelson Del Rio and the EOP recognition scholarship recipients. King has long been a supporter of Celebration, having previously served as an emcee for the event. She is a reporter and anchor for Q13 Fox in Seattle and was a 1994 recipient of the President’s Achievement Award, the top student scholar honor handed out at the event.

The evening's final speaker, Nate Miles, is an alumnus who represents OMA&D as a UW Foundation Board director and is the director of state government affairs for the Northwest Region of Eli Lilly. Miles performed "The Ask" at the event and helped OMA&D raise funds for future EOP scholarships.      

Get a complete recap of Celebration 2010.