Hilary Griffith

Class of 2010
Letters, Arts, and Sciences
Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus
Nominated by Susan Crampton-Frenchik

Standing up for your beliefs often requires courage and commitment.  Hilary Griffith rose to the challenge, and inspired others to appreciate and respect difference.

When a friend approached Hilary and offered to organize a free professional performance at the Penn State Fayette campus to help raise money for THON, she embraced his idea.  You might wonder why supporting a charity performance would require courage or conviction. In this case it had to do with negative reactions from students and staff.  You see, Hilary's friend is a professional drag queen and the performance would be a drag king and queen show.

Desiree Martin

Class of 2008
Human Development and Family Studies,
Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus
Nominated by Gina Jones

Most people think of Penn State students as 19- or 20-year-olds--not as mothers of college-aged students, like Desiree Martin. As a non-traditional student at Penn State Fayette, Desiree knows what it's like to not fit the "traditional" mold, and this perspective, as well as her life experiences, drive her passion to help others to rethink "diversity" and our ethical responsibilities toward one another.