DUBOIS – Penn State DuBois student Andrea Graham has taken a stand on ethics on many occasions, which has earned the Wildlife Technology student the Stand Up Award from the Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State. She was honored at a ceremony on Saturday, April 18, at the Nittany Lion Inn at University Park.
According to the Rock Ethics Institute, their mission is to promote ethics across the university through education, research and outreach. Instructor of Wildlife Technology Keely Roen, who nominated Graham for the award, said she exemplifies ethics and the promotion of ethical behavior.
“Andie Graham has been nothing short of an ethical force on campus, taking a series of stands that made her the target of both persecution and respect,” Roen said.
One of the accomplishments Roen nominated Graham for was the successful establishment of a Students for Obama Club on campus. In the face of opposition form most other students, Roen said Graham persevered. “On a small, primarily conservative campus, she experienced resistance to the club’s presence. As club president, she endured harsh emails in response to her student listserv announcements of meetings and events and even one personal attack on Facebook.”
Graham went on to organize a successful student voter registration drive, and arranged a debate of candidates for the fifth congressional district on campus. Roen said these accomplishments are in addition to Graham taking a stand for women’s issues and appropriate ethical behavior on campus.
“I have worked with Andie on many issues, and I am certainly a better teacher, advisor and member of our campus community because of her presence,” Roen said.
Graham has remained humble, saying, “I’m completely flattered to receive this award, but I don’t feel like I did anything special; I was just being me.” She explains, “I think that it is important to make a stand for what you believe in. I would rather speak out against something and lose than not speak up at all.”
