The Butler Community College Foundation selected Junetta French Everett as the 2021 Distinguished Alumna for Butler Community College.
The award identifies and honors alumni who have distinguished themselves in their chosen profession through service to the community, thus bringing prestige to Butler Community College. Nomination criteria include professional, community, and college service categories.
“Junetta is the embodiment of what it means to be a Grizzly,” Vice President of Advancement Tom Borrego said. “It is an honor for us to bestow this honor on her.”
Everett will serve as the speaker for Butler’s commencement exercises on May 14, 6:00 p.m. at the BG Products Veterans Sports Complex in El Dorado. Everett will also present transfer scholarship awards on behalf of the Butler Foundation at the Honors and Awards Ceremony.
“Butler made it simple for me…I never looked back,” Everett said. “Butler was where I was meant to be.”
Everett attended Butler from 1973-1975 and was one of the first Black female athletes at the school, participating in track and field. A true trailblazer, Everett and her friends formed the first Black Student Union at the college, of which Everett served as president. In 2017, Everett and a group of her friends and teammates from Butler returned to the school for a diversity panel, sharing their experiences as students of color in the 1970s.
Breaking more ceilings as the first Black hygienist in the state of Kansas, Everett retired in December 2020 as Vice President of Professional Relations at Delta Dental of Kansas after 27 years.
“We are so thrilled to recognize Junetta’s life and legacy of passion and purpose,” said Kim Krull, Ph.D., Butler Community College president. “She is an inspiration to all of us at the college and especially to our students.”
“Butler was my home away from home,” Everett said. “It was one of the best decisions I made since it jump-started my path that I am on now.”