ASU names 2025 MLK Servant-Leadership Award recipients


Closeup of MLK Jr. statue in Washington DC

The 2025 annual MLK awards honor people and groups who demonstrate a dedication to Martin Luther King Jr.'s value of service. Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News

The 2025 honorees have been named for Arizona State University's annual MLK celebration awards.

The four awards — community, faculty, staff and student — recognize leaders who dedicate themselves to Martin Luther King Jr.'s value of service. 

This year's awardees are: 

  • Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona, Community Servant-Leadership Award
  • Charles St. Clair, Faculty Servant-Leadership Award
  • Shawn Banzhaf, Staff Servant-Leadership Award
  • Cordero Holmes, Student Servant-Leadership Award

They will be honored at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Breakfast on Jan. 23.

The theme for this year's celebration is "Spaces We Belong." Each of this year's awardees has demonstrated a commitment to inclusion for others.

"Dr. King's values of service and inclusion are at the heart of our mission at Habitat for Humanity — working to build the beloved community," said Jason Barlow, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona. "Our work is designed to be inclusive, ensuring that everyone feels valued and heard in the process."

"... I am inspired by (King's) call for equality and service to others," said Holmes, a graduate student in the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. "I’ve incorporated his values by continuously working toward a world where everyone has the opportunity to succeed."

Read the full Q&As with each recipient:

Habitat for Humanity

Charles St. Clair

Shawn Banzhaf

Cordero Holmes

Community service, Cultural Affairs, Faculty, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities, Graduate students, Staff, Community, Sun Devil community, Announcements, Inclusion, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Pat Tillman Veterans Center, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions

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