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Academic Awards

Jabberwock 2021 posthumously salutes the three Sorors who are namesakes for our academic awards: Marguerite
Armstrong, President 1947‐1949; Sarah Leonard, President 1949‐51; and Irma Brown, President 1969‐71. The Brown-
Leonard Academic Award is presented to the senior with the highest academic average, and the Marguerite Arm-
strong Academic Award is presented to the junior with the highest academic average. Our chapter will forever be in‐
debted to these Sorors who unselfishly gave their me and service.

Soror Irma Brown, a na ve of Edgecombe County, matriculated at Minor Teachers College where she earned a Master
of Science Degree and graduated magna cum laude. At New York University in New York City; East Caroli‐
na University in Greenville, North Carolina; University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill she did her graduate study and received her MASTER Teachers Cer fica on
and Master of Arts Degree.

When Soror Brown returned to Rocky Mount from Washington, DC she worked as an educator in the
Edgecombe County School System. Also, she served as Ac ng Director, Director of Instruc on, and Asso‐
ciate Director at the Rocky Mount Area Supplementary Educa on Center. Soror Brown, the eleventh President of the
Rocky Mount Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. was an asset to the community as well as to the so‐
rority. Other areas of service included a volunteer to March of Dimes, Girl Scouts, and a member of the YWCA Steering
Commi ee.

Soror Sarah Leonard, the second President of Gamma Kappa Sigma Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., which
later became the Rocky Mount Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, was a very special lady
with a disposi on of charm, beauty, and grace. She was an educator in the Rocky Mount City Schools. As
a classroom teacher at Lincoln and O. R. Pope schools, she was held in high esteem. Later she became a
Speech Therapist for the City. Soror Leonard zealously served her community and church. She was an en‐
trepreneur who was co‐owner of Sorrell Funeral Home which later became Hunter‐Odom. A er Mr. Sor‐
rell’s death, she became the wife of Walter “Buck” Leonard, the famed Negro Baseball League member
who played for the “Grays.” Soror Leonard’s contribu ons certainly did send forth a gleam of hope that
led to many future successes.

Soror Marguerite Carson Armstrong, a daughter of teachers, had the desire to become a teacher ins lled in her by her
mother. She was an alumna of Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina where she graduated Cum
Laude as salutatorian and Columbia University in New York City. Her career in teaching included these
area schools: Nash County Training School (later named Nash Central High School), Booker T. Washing‐
ton High School, and Rocky Mount Senior High School. Soror Armstrong, a warm and caring person,
was excep onally intelligent and demanded one’s best performance whether in the sorority, in English
and Spanish classrooms, or as a class advisor, English Department Chair, girls’ varsity basketball coach,
drama director, public speech coach. Her former students recognize her as being a teacher of excel‐
lence or their “Best Teacher.” Beyond her teaching experiences, she served outstandingly as a judge of
the Achievement Awards in the Wri ng Contest sponsored by the Na onal Council of English Teachers.

The Rocky Mount Alumnae Chapter proudly salutes the memory and legacy of these three incredible Sorors Sarah
Leonard, Irma Brown, and Marguerite Armstrong for providing us with a roadmap to excellence in community service
and academic pursuits.