The Office of Student Life and the OSU Institute of Technology’s Diversity Initiative Committee worked together to bring three guest speakers to campus in February to tell their stories and offer presentations to honor Black History Month.

The first speaker is Alicia Johnson, who was crowned Miss Black OSU in April 2016. She will speak Wednesday, Feb. 8 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the PSO Lounge in the Student Union.

The following week on Feb. 14, Dr. Donnie Nero will be on campus in the breakout rooms in the Student Union from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nero, a former president of Connors State College, will do a presentation about the African American Educator’s Hall of Fame.

Finally on Feb. 21, James Finch, who served as FBI Special Agent in Charge in Oklahoma, will speak about security from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in the PSO Lounge in the Student Union.

Nate Todd, director of Prospective Student Services and chairman of the Diversity Initiative Committee, said it’s important to honor black history because it’s American history.

“We honor and commemorate black Americans’ indispensable contributions to the foundational fabric interwoven into America’s culture and identity,” Todd said. “This celebration is important to our students’ cultural and diversity competencies. We at OSUIT are building our students up to be refined employees for an ever-changing workforce.”