Clay Honored With UNCC Outstanding Young Alumnus Award!

Note - Yesterday we had heard that Clay received an alumni award from UNCC, but we didn't have any firm evidence of this. Today, we have a picture and article as proof that Clay has won this most prestigious award!! Read on!!

Clay Aiken, along with four other UNCC alumni, were honored by the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association at the 2006 Alumni Awards Banquet on Saturday, November 11th. According to the Alumni website, "each year, the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association honors alumni, faculty, and friends who have reached great levels of achievement and have distinguished themselves through public and University service." This description of those honored is very much personified in the things Clay has chosen to do with his life. He received the UNCC Outstanding Young Alumnus Award at the ceremony.

At this same website, achievements of each person receiving an award are given. Clay's section includes many outstanding highlights of the past few years as follows:

Clay Aiken is this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. The Outstanding Young Alumnus(na) Award was established in 1996 and honors an alum who has graduated within the last ten years and who has shown exceptional service to the UNC Charlotte community and the Alumni Association.

Many people know Clay Aiken as the first runner-up from “American Idol,” but it is his dedication to children across the globe that sets him apart from others. After graduating from UNC Charlotte in 2003, Clay has embarked on a successful career both through music and writing. His first album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and his book entitled “Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life” was a New York Times Best Seller. Apart from his music career, Clay has been an education advocate and founded the Bubel-Aiken foundation, which supports the integration of children with disabilities into the life environment of their non-disabled peers through summer camps and other initiatives. In addition, he has served as an Ambassador to the Ronald McDonald House Charities, UNICEF National Ambassador of education, and in September 2006, President George Bush appointed Clay to serve on the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.

I know we all want to send our congratulations to Clay and let him know how very proud we are of him for receiving this prestigious award and for the many things he continues to do to make a difference in the world.

Technorati tags: Clay Aiken, A Thousand Different Ways, ATDW, American Idol, Without You, Invisible