Odessa College held its annual OC Honors Luncheon to celebrate outstanding individuals and organizations who have contributed to improving education in the Permian Basin.
Those recognized at this year’s event were the Outstanding Individual - Chris Cole, Outstanding Educator – Dr. Scott Muri, Outstanding Non-profit – Permian Strategic Partnership, Outstanding Business – First Basin Credit Union, and the Community Impact Award winner – Andrews Independent School District.
The celebration luncheon, held on Wednesday, Nov. 8, took place at the Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center and featured keynote speaker Noel Quiñones, Emmy award winning Puerto Rican writer, actor, educator and community organizer from the Bronx.
Quiñones has performed on stages across the country including Lincoln Center, Harvard University, BAM, the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Stanford University, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, American University, and the Honolulu Museum of Art. His work has been showcased on Huffington Post, Vibe, Tidal Music, Latina Magazine, Medium, Univision, Remezcla, Mitú and elsewhere.
He is the founder of Project X, a Bronx-based arts organization, a 40 Under 40 Rising Latino Stars Recipient, and a member of the 2019 Intercultural Leadership Institute cohort.
He is a recent graduate of the University of Mississippi M.F.A. program, where he was the 2019 John and Renée Grisham Poetry Fellow, winning the D.C. Berry Prize in Creative Writing and the Bondurant Poetry Prize.