San Diego State honored a number of students, faculty, alumni and staff for their achievements in the field of campus diversity during the Annual SDSU Diversity Awards on Wednesday.

“These awards are given to people or groups on campus whose achievements often go unrecognized,” Chief Diversity Officer Aaron Bruce told the crowd gathered in Montezuma Hall for the award ceremony.

This year’s award recipients were the Asian Pacific Student Alliance, Africana Studies associate professor Charles Toombs, Career Services Career Counselor Bobbie Gray and CW 6 anchorwoman and SDSU alumna Perette Godwin.

The award recipients were chosen through an online nomination process for their “exemplary contributions to diversity and social justice,” according to SDSU NewsCenter.

“The award recipients are often people around campus that just deserve a big hug,” Bruce said.

Gray said she was overjoyed the school had taken the time to recognize her work on campus.

“I didn’t even know what to say when I was nominated,” Gray said. “I’m just happy to give back.”

Past diversity award recipients include the Association of Chicana Activists and SDSU Alumnus Leon Williams, who was the first African-American man to serve as a member of the San Diego City Council.

The awards ceremony coincided with the 50-year anniversary memorial ceremony of Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to SDSU.

“We’ve come a long way over the course of the last 50 years,” SDSU President Elliot Hirshman said. “I think Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be proud to see how far we have made it.”

Guests, including some alumni who had been present for King’s 1964 speech in the Open Air Theater, were treated to diverse refreshments from around the world and music by the genre melding world music band Todo Mundo.

“This event was the result of almost a year’s worth of planning,” Bruce said. “It couldn’t have turned out better.”

Photo by Kevin Serrano, staff photographer