ELKHART, Ind. -- The 11th annual Trailblazer Awards will be held later this month at Elkhart High School to celebrate the top African American students for their hard work in the classroom.

Organizers say over 150 of the top African American students will gather to be honored for being the best and brightest students at their respective schools. Each one of them will be honored with an award and dinner, and the 2025 Leroy Robinson Lifetime Achievement award will be presented to a valued educator of Elkhart Community Schools.

The 2025 Garvin Roberson Student Athlete of the year recipient Anothony Lenard Jr., who is a two-sport athlete at Elkhart High School, also carries a 3.8 GPA in the classroom.

"Anthony is a great kid and exemplifies what coach Garvin stood for on the field and in the classroom," said Elkhart High School Football Coach Travon Curry.

"Lenard was a key factor in the success of the Elkhart High School Football Program this year and was named all-conference Northern Indiana Conference this year and was a state qualifier for the recording breaking 4x100 relay team."

Dr. Sean Huddleston will be the keynote speaker of the event.

Huddleston became the fifth president of Martin University on March 19, 2019, and brings over 30 years of experience in the private and public sectors to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Indiana’s only Predominantly Black Institution (PBI).

"Before being named President and Chief Executive Office of Martin University, Dr. Huddleston served as Vice President and Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer at the University of Indianapolis," an Elkhart Chapter of the Indiana Black Expo spokesperson said.

"Before that, he was Chief Officer of Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement at Framingham State University in Framingham, Mass. He also served as an Assistant Vice President at Grand Valley State in Allendale, Mich."

Tickets for the event will be sold online until Monday, Feb 12, and no tickets will be sold at the door.