詹妮弗·k·森田著

2022年9月12日

Kenya Burton says her childhood was straight out of a horror movie — like the ones she’d watch hiding in her room behind a door her father dented in one of his violent rages.

“I love horror movies, any scary movie,” Burton, 22, said. “They’re my escape, because I know no matter how scary the ride is, the main girl survives in the end.”

Spoiler alert: Burton not only survives, she’s the heroine who writes her own happy ending.

博彩平台 selected Burton for the 2022 Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement, the university’s highest recognition of student accomplishment.

Every year, the CSU recognizes one student from each of the system’s 23 campuses with the award, honoring students who demonstrate superior academic performance, personal accomplishments, community service, and inspirational goals for the future.

Announcement of the awards was made in conjunction with September’s Board of Trustees meeting in Long Beach.

“I am deeply impressed by Kenya’s perseverance and her dedication,” 萨克拉门托 State President Robert S. Nelsen said. “She not only has excelled in her studies; 她用她的诗来治愈自己和他人，并将困难和痛苦的生活经历转化为帮助他人的热情。

“Kenya truly embodies the Hornet spirit, and I am proud she is part of the Hornet Family. I can’t wait to see what else she will accomplish.”

CSU Chancellor Jolene Koester said the honored scholars “wonderfully exemplify the ideals of the 博彩平台,”

“Their inspirational stories are connected by a common thread of intelligence, perseverance, resilience, and the transformative power of higher education,” Koester said. “Our communities, state and nation – indeed, our world – will long reap the benefits of their academic, professional and personal achievement.”

伯顿是传播学专业的大四学生，在萨利纳斯出生并长大，在三姐妹中排行中间。

She spent the first 12 years of her life walking a tightrope, because her father – a rapper and poet – was a schizophrenic and alcoholic.

“It’s difficult when you know your dad is a good person, but then you meet the other version of your dad, who hurts you and hurts your mom,” Burton said.

“My father was a constant threat to our lives.”

There was the time he didn’t bring Burton and her sister, Aaliyah, home after their weekend visitation with him. 伯顿花了好几天的时间，准备挡在父亲和当时只有1岁的阿莉娅之间，以防父亲把怒气发泄到他们身上。

“He didn’t feed us, and I vividly remember mushing up a banana in my hands and trying to feed it to my sister,” Burton said. “I was looking up at the stars and holding her in my lap.

“I didn’t care if I made it out, but if one of us was going to get out, it had to be my sister.”

伯顿当时8岁。

It was another four years before Burton’s mother, Catherine Gomez, got full custody of the girls. 最终，她的父亲不再出席法院指定的探视。

“I had a poetry judge once say the way I write is like looking into a crypt.” -- Kenya Burton, 2022 CSU Trustees’ Award recipient

Until then, they found solace after each violent episode by streaming horror movies, often huddled at the kitchen counter where they could access a neighbor’s Wi-Fi.

“It was our outlet. Growing up poor, there was no money to go out, so a movie and a bag of popcorn was our weekend,” she said.

波顿从戈麦斯那里得到的不仅仅是电影选择。

“My mom always has this saying: ‘Make the ugly things beautiful through art,’ ” Burton said. “So, I would always write everything down.”

但她从来没有告诉过她的朋友或老师。 然后，在中学的一天，她把自己生活的一小部分写进了一首诗里。

“My teacher read it, and she was like, ‘This is so sad, but it’s really good.’ … She took a month trying to convince me to enter a poetry competition, and eventually I went, and I ended up winning,” Burton said.

整个高中，伯顿参加了10场比赛，从未排名低于前三名。 

“I had a poetry judge once say the way I write is like looking into a crypt,” Burton said.

从哈特内尔学院转学后，伯顿每学期都在萨克州立大学的校长荣誉名单上。 A member of Phi Theta Kappa, she’s president of Alliance for Black Thought, a club supporting college students of color.

Burton’s poetry has won the New York Silver Key Scholastic Arts Award, and last year she was named Salinas Youth Poet Laureate.

She’s most proud of serving on the Monterey County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, where she works with agencies and organizations to help people like her.

Burton plans to get her master’s degree in Organizational Communication, and wants to open a nonprofit in Monterey County for families escaping domestic violence.

Winning the Trustees’ Award means Burton doesn’t have to worry about paying for her last year at 囊状态, since it comes with a donor-funded scholarship. 今年，23名获奖者将获得总计超过18万美元的奖学金。

Burton, who is the 名誉校长查尔斯B和凯瑟琳里德学者, will receive $12,000.

“It kind of took my breath away,” Burton said. “My mom was about to pull money from her retirement. 我在塔吉特百货的停车场发现我的奖学金涨到一万二了。

“I immediately broke down crying.”

最后，就像她喜欢的那些正义战胜邪恶的恐怖电影一样，伯顿打败了怪物，取得了胜利。

“I’m the girl who makes it out in the end,” Burton said. “Despite all the obstacles, I’m the one who makes it to dawn and gets to see the sun come up and say, ‘You did it. 你赢了这场比赛。’ ”