X
5/13/2013
FSCC Announces Outstanding Alumnus and Young Alumnus for 2013
Fort Scott Community College announces that the2013 Outstanding
Alumnus and Young Alumnus have been chosen to speak at graduation
ceremonies. Dr. Christopher Smith was chosen as the 2013 Outstanding
Alumnus and will speak at the graduation ceremony on Friday, May 17, at 12:00
p.m. David Muhammad, the 2013 Outstanding Young Alumnus, will address graduates
at the 9:00 a.m. ceremony on May 17. All graduation ceremonies will be in the
Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center. This year’s recipients will be
honored at a special reception on graduation day at 2:00 p.m. in the Meeting
Rooms of the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center. Friends, family and
fellow alumni are invited to attend.
David Muhammad was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the
son of Celestine and Rudolph Muhammad and was raised in Overland Park, Kansas,
with his younger brother Joseph and younger sister Amanda.
He attended Fort Scott Community College from 2003-2005.
While at FSCC, he was a member of the Men’s basketball team, President’s
Ambassadors, Homecoming King, and Outstanding Sophomore of the Year. After Fort
Scott, David transferred to Emporia State University. At ESU, he remained
active on campus as a President’s Ambassador, Black History Month Chair of
Black Student Union, and President of Muslim Student Association.
After graduating, he began teaching in the Shawnee Mission School
District where he is currently spending his fifth year of teaching at Shawnee
Mission East High School as a US History and Economics teacher. In May 2012, he
received his Masters in Education from Baker University.
Besides teaching, David is also a full time martial arts
instructor at his father’s Kwanzaa Martial Arts Academy in Kansas City,
Missouri. He currently travels across the country competing in national
tournaments and recently earned his fifth degree black belt earning him the
title “Master Instructor”. In his religious community, David is an active
member at the Al-Inshirah Islamic Center in Kansas City, Missouri. David has
also delved into humanitarian efforts, traveling to Uganda, East Africa, in
2010 to do service work at St. Mary Kevin orphanage.
David currently lives in Merriam, Kansas, with his wife
Aisha Sharif.
Chris Smith moved to Fort Scott just
prior to the beginning of his eighth-grade year. His parents, Cecil and Lois
Smith, had been transferred for Cecil’s work. Chris and his four brothers:
Scott, Ben, Brian, and Darren all graduated from Fort Scott High School. Chris
was active in various high school athletics and student government; he
graduated in 1970. He then attended FSCC from 1970-1971. He later transferred
to Pittsburg State University and ultimately graduated with a B.A. and M.S.
with majors in psychology from the University of Colorado. Dr. Smith completed
his coursework for a doctorate in Human Development and Family Life in 1980 at
the University of Kansas and then practiced for eight years as a clinical
psychologist in Kansas. After many years of being interested in better
understanding the impact of his work, he went back to the University of Kansas
and completed a Ph.D. in Education.
Dr. Smith went on to work for 13 years at the University of
Kansas in a variety of functions, including working in the fields of research
and evaluation, early childhood, behavior supports, and developmental
disabilities such as autism. In 2009, Dr. Smith accepted a position as Director
of the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities at Kennedy Krieger
Institute in Baltimore, one of the largest hospitals in the country
specifically focused on children and youth with disabilities and special health
care needs. He also serves as the Director of Scientific Inquiry for the Center
for Leadership and Innovation at Kennedy Krieger as well as Assistant Professor
at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and
Faculty on the Women’s and Children’s Health Policy Center at Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Smith serves in an advisory and consultant capacity for a number of local,
state, and national agencies and government departments.
Dr. Smith considers his greatest accomplishment being
married to his wife, Patricia (Welch) Smith, for 40 years. They have four
lovely daughters: Jennifer, Shannon, Chelsea, and Caitlin. He has enjoyed
working with Habitat for Humanity to build affordable housing, and he still
enjoys home projects as well as outdoor sports such as hiking and
fly-fishing.