It had been a long day for Elodie Billionniere. She woke up at 5 a.m. to drive to ASU’s West campus for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast Celebration. After which she headed to the Tempe campus for the MLK Student Rally in front of the Memorial Union. Then class. Then work. She’d barely slept.

But Thursday’s hectic schedule was no shock to Elodie Billionniere.

“I’m used to being busy like this,” she said. “It’s a lifestyle. Like waking up and brushing your teeth.”

Billionniere’s inexhaustibility was recognized on two ASU campuses Thursday. At the West campus breakfast, Billionniere received the 2009 MLK Student Servant-Leadership Award from President Michael Crow, and in Tempe she was the featured speaker at the MLK Student Rally.

“She is the epitome of student leadership,” said Sherril Tomita, assistant director for Multicultural Student Services, who helped organize the events. “[President] Crow called her a ‘nuclear reactor of energy’…but I can’t believe she ever sleeps.”

The MLK Student Rally is held so that students can pay homage to the teachings of the civil-rights leader because Martin Luther King Day itself usually falls on a day when students are too busy preparing for the new semester to participate, said Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, assistant vice president for cultural affairs. At the rally, one student each year is recognized for demonstrating King’s ideals of student-leadership in their daily lives, she said.

Although many students were nominated from all four campuses, Billionniere’s track record of community activism set her well apart from the rest of the candidates in the eyes of the MLK Planning Committee, Jennings-Roggensack said.

“Elodie not only impacts ASU communities, but all communities around her,” she said.

Billionniere, who moved to Arizona from Paris in 2001, is a graduate student currently pursuing both a Master’s of Education and a doctorate degree in computer sciences. Her list of accomplishments includes volunteer work at YWCA Haven House shelter for abused women and Pilgrim Rest Baptist church, mentoring and tutoring children with Big Sister, and founding the community service project WE Care: YOU Care. She is also president of the Black Graduate Students Association.

Billionniere said King’s accomplishments are an inspiration in her life, and that the award held special meaning in light of the rally’s message of tolerance and altruism.

“Receiving this award is an honor and a privilege,” Billionniere said. “Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s advocacy for humanity rights is crucial to make a difference in the society. I am humbled by this award and its namesake.”

Thursday’s celebrations included a parade emulating King’s March on Washington and the MLK Breakfast on ASU’s West campus. Community-Servant Leadership Award recipient Masaji Inoshita was also recognized at the MLK Breakfast Celebration.

The MLK Student Rally featured cultural performances by musicians, dancers and spoken-word artists, and audio clips from King’s speeches.

Billionniere said the festivities of the rally honor more than just her accomplishments, because many ASU students quietly volunteer without recognition.

“This award is for all the ASU students who are involved on campus and in the communities and many of them are out there,” she said. “No one does service to get an award. I do it because I care about people.”

The message of Thursday’s rally was to recognize that everybody already is, or can easily become, a meaningful contributor to his or her community, Billionniere said.

“You can do more than just be a student,” she said. “I feel privileged to be in college, but we [students] can do [many] meaningful things outside of class.”

Reach the reporter at trabens@asu.edu.