Emily J.T. Perez
On an evening set aside to honor and further the legacy of Emily J.T. Perez, the accolades seemed disproportionally unfit to describe Perez, who by all accounts, was always more than ready to meet the demands of her personal journey.
In her short, beautiful, and bold life, the Fort Washington resident was nominated to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2001. A lifetime benchmark that by itself could stand on its own, but for Perez was a stepping stone to future success.
While at West Point she led the 4X100 meter relay team to three outdoor Patriot League Championships. Off the field, she excelled in leadership roles becoming the first woman of color to lead the academy’s 4,000 cadets as the Corps’ Command Sergeant Major.
In 2005, she graduated in the top 10 percent of her class with a Bachelors of Science degree in sociology. Earning her commission as a second lieutenant in the Army, she was deployed to Iraq in the spring of the same year.
Emily J.T. Perez's parents
Perez’s exceptional life ended when an improvised explosive device detonated under her Humvee killing her in September 2006. She was the first female graduate of West Point and the first black female officer to die in Iraq. Perez was 23.
On the weekend of her birthday, the Emily J.T. Perez Foundation Inc. gathered inside the Four Points Sheraton in New Carrollton to remember Perez and to encourage girls to embrace her work ethic and zeal for excellence.
Started by her parents, Daniel and Vicki Perez, the foundation awarded its first scholarship in May to Courtney Gee, a graduate of Oxon Hill High School who is currently a student at Towson University.
The evening was heavy with sober, poignant and elegantly crafted remembrances of Perez, a photo montage played continuously showing Perez on the track, as a cadet, in Iraq, and with family and friends as a three piece band ran through the cannon of soul and R&B classics.
U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, who nominated Perez to West Point’s 2005 class, appeared via video to applaud Perez’s legacy and praise the foundation’s work.
A letter was also read from Gen. David Petraeus, commander, U.S. Central Command.
Watching Emily on film Click HERE to view gala photos.
“I’m so proud to say that’s my daughter,” said Perez’s mother, a minister at Peace Baptist Church in the District. “She gives us so many reasons to be here on this occasion.”
“Wow, wow, wow,” began the evening’s keynote speaker New York University Professor Yvonne Latty. “I’m so moved tonight. When you lose a friend, it stays with you. It moved me and made me realize how sad this is.” Latty is the author of In conflict: Iraq War Veterans Speak Out on Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive (Polipoint Press 2006).
“This is also a special event by keeping her memory alive,” Latty continued. “Even though I am older than Emily, I came to look up to her.”
For more information on Emily Perez and the foundation visit www.emilysway.org.
--PGS Staff
|
