Student honored for civic engagement and leadership

Skidmore College has announced that Anna Graves '14 has been named a 2012 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a national coalition of colleges and universities dedicated to fostering civic and social responsibility. Graves is among 160 students nationally to receive the award, which recognizes college students for their efforts to explore social issues and work toward positive change.

Among her many initiatives at Skidmore, Graves has worked to increase student awareness of agriculture and food sources, environmental issues, and campus governance. Off-campus, she has pursued projects related to the developing world, sustainability, and literacy. 

Last year, as a first-year student, Graves organized an alternative spring-break trip that took 9 fellow students to a small community-supported farm in upstate New York, where the group worked alongside farmers to learn more about food production and sustainable agriculture.

Also in her first year, she was elected vice president of Skidmore's Environmental Action Club and helped organize a trip for 80 students to Washington, D.C., to attend PowerShift 2011, a national student conference on climate change.

During her summer break, Graves traveled to Ghana as a researcher with the Health and Humanitarian Aid Foundation. Later that summer she worked in Narragansett, R.I., as a deckhand on a fishing boat to learn more about sustainable fisheries and squeezed in an internship for a literacy organization that develops programs for K-12 schools.

Currently, Graves serves as president of Skidmore's Outing Club, which promotes outdoor programs and engagement with nature, and is vice president of the student government's Academic Council, through which students participate in the academic decision making at the college. Also, she has been appointed to a newly created position within the Student Government Association to provide student input on the use and protection of Skidmore's extensive wooded properties.

Graves, who is majoring in government, hails from Nashville, Tenn.

"Anna is great example of the engaged and empowered young people we need for our next generation of leaders," said Skidmore President Philip A. Glotzbach. "She is using her liberal arts education to make a difference both here on campus and in the wider world. We're very pleased that her work has been acknowledged with the Newman award."