Awards were presented recently to nine Baltimore City public school students who submitted winning essays to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest. They are: Josephine McKinley, Joseph Sembly, Jason Hardison, Kristi Ward, La Shandra Nash, Corinna Yost, Meghan Davis and Marie Solomon.

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Robert F. Tardio and Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes, D-Md., are the 1991 recipients of the Chancellor's Medal of the University of Maryland System, the school's highest award for distinguished public service.

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Towson State University has awarded scholarships to thfollowing students: Valerie E. Burnette, Rebecca Cole, Catherine Myers Kates and Michael C. Kuo. Brooks P. Jones was awarded a student grant.

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A Maryland teen and students from Suitland High School in Forestville were recently chosen 1991 Clairol Spirit of Young America Award winners. Jennifer Brennan, 18, of College Park, organized a daylong Christmas workshop for physically impaired children, which allowed parents to have a day to themselves, while their children were supervised. The Suitland ninth- through 12th-graders created five programs to enable students to help others. The Clairol awards are designed to honor 50 young Americans, who have acted to make their world a better place. There were more than 1,500 nominees this year.