A STANDOUT STUDENT LEADER

Anna Manasco’s Emory experience was a jigsaw puzzle of student service, academics, volunteer work, and organizational leadership, and in the end the whole turned out to be greater than the sum of its parts.

“That’s kind of the beauty of Emory,” Manasco says. “It’s a place where I have really been able to experience and explore a lot of different things. I don’t think any one particular experience has been the most fulfilling. I worked with the Student Government Association, my sorority, wrote an honors thesis. . . . All were rewarding and satisfying adventures, and one did not have to come at the price of another.”

Manasco’s energy and dedication earned her the 2002 Lucius Lamar McMullan Award. Endowed by Emory alumnus William L. Matheson in honor of his uncle, the award is given to a graduating senior who exhibits “outstanding citizenship, exceptional leadership, and potential for service to his or her community, the nation, and the world.” The accompanying $20,000 award is intended to allow the student to do something he or she would not otherwise be able to. Manasco will use the funds to attend graduate school at Oxford University in England.

Continuing the course of study she began at Emory, Manasco will work toward a Ph.D. in political science. After writing her honors thesis on the representation of women in U.S. state legislatures, she now plans to study the representation of women in British parliament.

Described by faculty members as a “true servant leader,” Manasco was a Pollard Turman Leadership Scholar who graduated with highest honors. She served as president of her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, during her senior year, when the chapter won the Emory Dean’s Cup for Fraternal Excellence. She also was president of the Student Government Association (SGA).

Manasco volunteered her talents as an award-winning debater, teaching a debate class at Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta and serving as a volunteer counselor at Alabama Girls State, a mock government program for teenage women.

Manasco grew up in Alabama and is the daughter of J. Michael and Jennifer Manasco of Montgomery.

“I think I have tried to do everything you can possibly do as one person to experience all that Emory has to offer,” Manasco says. “I’ve made the most of my time here and I leave with no regrets.”–P.P.P.