2004 Service Award Recipient, Mrs. Mildred Evans Itoka

Mildred Evans Itoka was born in Maryland County, Liberia. She graduated from Cape Palmas High School and then matriculated to the University of Liberia. In July 1959, she married to Aloysius K. Itoka, Sr. This union is blessed with four children, Aloysius Jr., Yvonne, Michael and Carl.

In 1960, her huband accepted a commission in the Foreign Service of the Republic of Liberia. Mrs. Itoka accompanied hi on his new assignment to West Germany. As a caring and concerned person, she opened their home to government scholarship students, as well as other students in Germany, as they adjusted to their new environment. Thus began her love for helping students and her fascination with education in general. During her time in West Germany, Mrs. Itoka, who is a very talented seamstress, received training in interior decorating and design.

Upon her return to Liberia, Mrs. Itoka accepted a teaching position from 1967 to 1968 at the Monrovia Demonstration Elementary School. In 1969, Mr. Moses Weefur, then Principal of Booker T. Washington Institute (BWI), in Kakata, Liberia, recruited her to join the Home Economics department as an instructor at that institution. She held this position for one year when, due to the cact that she could not find an appropriate elementary school for her children, she returned to Monrovia Demonstration Elementary School. She taught third grade as well as Home Economics classes. In January 1975, she accepted the position of Head of Home Economics Department at Ricks Institute, a position she held until December 1978. She also taught Social Studies and served as a sponsor of the Student Council.

During her stay at Ricks Institute, Mrs. toka was very dedicated to the students. Her house was always open to anyone who stopped by and students visited frequently. In the classroom, she was very committed to excellence. When called upon by the school's Administration, she was always willing to render other services as needed.

After Mrs. Itoka left Ricks Institute, her next teaching assignment was at Charlotte Tolbert High School (now Monrovia Central High School). She remained in that position until 1991 when she left Liberia due to the political crisis.

Mrs. Itoka continues her dedication to education in the United States. She has visited llocal schools and has spoken to students about education in Africa. She has volunteered as a classroom aid at the local middle school. As a member of several Liberian Organizations in the United States of America, she has bee dedicaated to rebuilding the educational system in Liberia.

It is for this unending commitment and dedication to the education of children in Liberia and everywhere that the Ricks Institute Alumni Association, USA, Inc., honors Mildred Evans Itoka on this fourth day of September, 2004, in Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.