Student peer education groups win state recognition

  Wednesday, May 4, 2016 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

The Pittsburg State University peer education groups Students for Violence Prevention and Gorillas In Your Midst presented programs at the Meeting of The Minds Area 4 West conference in Kansas City, recently, and were selected for three awards.

Ali Smith, PSU coordinator for violence prevention and victim advocacy, was selected to receive the “Outstanding Adviser Award For Excellence” for her work as adviser, trainer and mentor for Students for Violence Prevention.

Students for Violence Preventions, meanwhile, received the “Outstanding Program Award For Excellence” for their 2015 Domestic Violence Awareness Month program.

The group was selected to give a break-out presentation titled “Paint Your Campus Purple: Addressing Campus Violence” to other peer educators and advisers in attendance.

Kelsey Lueck, student coordinator for Gorillas In Your Midst, received the “Outstanding Senior Award For Excellence” for her four-year commitment to creativity, leadership and promotion in peer health education.

Gorillas In Your Midst also presented a break-out session. Titled “Gorilla Warm-Up,” the session outlined the group’s DO THE GORILLA THING (DO THE RIGHT THING) campus programming, which starts with the peer theater program presented to all incoming freshmen and continues throughout the year.

Lueck was also selected for the “Outstanding Leader” award at the 2016 PSU Leadership and Awards Banquet on April 22. The narrative from her nominator reads, in part: “She was a standout from the beginning, not only in her approach to school, but also in her genuine interest in others… She is intelligent, creative, never shies away from responsibility, and possesses infectious optimism”

Kelsey’s sister Sarah, a member of both Students for Violence Prevention and Gorillas In Your Midst. was awarded the $1,500 Wintle Scholarship for Outstanding Leadership and Academic Performance. The narrative from her nominator reads, in part: “She has high academic standards, a deep sense of compassion, outstanding leadership qualities, and is the most committed person to ‘Doing The Gorilla Thing I have ever come across.”

For information on Students for Violence Prevention, contact Ali Smith at 620-235-4831 or alisonclark@gus.pittstate.edu. For Gorillas In Your Midst, contact J.T. Knoll at 620-235-4062 or jknoll@pittstate.edu.