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K-State Today

October 23, 2017

Future teacher receives prestigious multicultural scholarship, technology award

Submitted by Patrice L Scott

Mahkala Lackey and Doris Wright Carroll

Mahkala Lackey, a junior in elementary education, is this year's recipient of a prestigious multicultural scholarship and technology award created for future teachers by K-State scholar Doris Wright Carroll.

Lackey is the 2017 recipient of the Doris Wright Carroll Multicultural Technology Award and the Lawrence G. Wright Scholarship, a fund created in honor of Carroll's father to celebrate his contributions to the field of diversity at Santa Fe Railroad. Carroll is an associate professor of special education, counseling and student affairs in the College of Education.

Lackey is anxious to experiment with her laptop and the ways technology can assist students with different learning styles, and she looks forward to leveraging her new skills upon graduation.

"I think technology can help in aiding different learning styles — auditory, visual and even kinesthetic — and I'm excited to see how educators use technology in the classroom," Lackey said. "After graduation, I really want to teach in inner city Kansas City."

Carroll was elated to learn her career plans.

"When I heard she had an interest in teaching in the inner city, I lit up because this is an audience who needs great talent," Carroll said. "Mahkala has this aura and passion, and I can see it. She is the ideal candidate for this scholarship and technology award."

Lackey is a second-generation Wildcat. Her mother, Kim Lackey, is a teacher for Manhattan High School's virtual academy, and her dad, Ron Lackey, is a worship pastor, and both graduated from K-State.

Carroll and her family created the Lawrence G. Wright Scholarship in 2002 and this award has been given to an undergraduate multicultural student every year since then. In 2011, Carroll enhanced the scholarship by establishing the Doris Wright Carroll Multicultural Technology Award, which provides the Lawrence G. Wright scholar with a new laptop to aid their academic pursuits.