April 25, 2001
University Park, Pa. -- Kokou Agbodoh, a senior in economics from Togo, Africa, will receive the Kopp Undergraduate International Achievement Award at the Student Recognition Ceremony, Sunday, April 29, at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.

The award recognizes one undergraduate student each year who has contributed significantly to the advancement of the international mission of the University and who has achieved excellence in academic course work, research on international issues, participation in international programs, leadership in improving relations among peoples from abroad and service to the international community.

Agbodoh has been an active member of the African Students Association and serves as an ambassador for Penn State, assisting new African students as they make the adjustment to life in the U.S.  “Telling other international students about my experience and achievement at Penn State will give them the incentive they need in order to succeed in the new world.”

The top graduate of the Universite du Benin in Togo in 1997, Agbodoh came to the U. S. in 1998 and is now completing a baccalaureate degree with a 3.92 GPA at Penn State in anticipation of earning a graduate degree in economics.  He plans to use his background in economics to address issues of economic development, resource management and poverty in Togo.

As part of his undergraduate degree, he has been working on a senior research thesis with David Shapiro, professor of economics and director of undergraduate studies in economics, on gender differences in educational investments in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  He presented his research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Kentucky in March.

In addition to his academic success, Agbodoh has been wheel-chair bound since age three as a result of polio, and last year was the first official member of the Penn State wheelchair track and field team.  He won the 5000 meter at the Great Race in Pittsburgh in the men’s wheelchair class, received the Academic Achievement Award for Students with Disabilities, and is currently working with the engineering department to help develop a spinning wheelchair for use in para-Olympic disc and shot put.

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