 The honor was given to coincide with the school's announcement that 100% of the first graduating class had been accepted to a 4-year college or university.Later that year, he was further honored with the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education’s “Pacesetter’s Award” and the “Phoenix Award for Education” from Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.In connection with Urban Prep, he has also been named a “Man of the Year” by "Men’s Journal", and has been a finalist in GQ Magazine’s “Better Men Better World” search as well as "Chicago Magazine"’s “Chicagoan of the Year.” In 2014, King was invited to attend the 2014 BET Awards to receive The Shine A Light Award for his work with Urban Prep Academies.