Desha Girod To Receive The Eric A. Walker Award

March 23, 2000

University Park, Pa. — Desha Girod, a political science major from Wayne, will receive the 2000 Eric A. Walker Award at Penn State’s Student Awards Ceremony on Sunday, April 9, at the Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel.

The Walker Award is presented annually to the student who has contributed most to enhancing the reputation of the University through extracurricular activities. Walker was president of the University from 1956 to 1970. Girod will graduate in May.

After moving to Pennsylvania from Puerto Rico and learning English only 10 years ago, Girod began her studies at Penn State in 1996. On the Dean’s List each semester since, she also has received the Liberal Arts Academic Excellence Award each year and is a Bunton-Waller Fellow. Last year, she was awarded one of 80 nationally competitive Truman Scholarships.

Girod served as president of the Undergraduate Student Government at University Park, is a national Truman Scholar and has worked with the Schreyer Learning Center to improve teaching and learning at the University. She also revitalized student life through such initiatives as "Student 2 Student," a program in which seniors help freshmen make good academic decisions and was instrumental in expanding student involvement in the annual Martin Luther King celebrations. During the summer, she was an intern in the Philadelphia Mayor’s office twice and made significant contributions there as well.

Next year, Girod will be a Mitchell Scholar, one of only 12 such scholars nationwide, to study international politics at Trinity College, Dublin. In the future, she plans a career in public service.

Contact: Christy Rambeau 84-865-7517 or e-mail at