On Oct. 11th Visiting Clinical Professor Maya Simek was awarded the Shining Star Award for her contributions to furthering Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered equality in an educational setting. This award honors her as an individual from the LGBT community who has proven to be a distinguished inspiration to others for guidance, inspiration, or scholarship in the field of Education. The award is part of the Cleveland LGBT Heritage Day Celebration co-sponsored by Cleveland’s LGBT Center and the City of Cleveland.  Maya was recognized for the work she did to revitalize both the undergraduate and law student LGBT student organizations, her outstanding service as president of CM Allies, and her many other successful efforts to increase LGBT visibility and equality at CSU and throughout the greater Cleveland area.  Many of Maya’s accomplishments occurred during her two-year tenure as a graduate assistant for LGBT Student Services in CSU’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, but the award also recognized Maya’s ongoing efforts to make Cleveland a better community for all its citizens, exemplified by her work to create a legal clinic at the Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center based on a community lawyering model. C|M|LAW Professor Susan Becker, the 2009 recipient of the award, presented the award to Maya.