Less than two weeks into her senior yearone in which she
was to serve as president of the Student Government AssociationAnna
Manasco stood on the front steps of Candler Library. More than 2,000
pairs of eyes stared back seeking some sort of comfort.
It was Wednesday night, Sept. 12.
Strengthened by each other, refreshed by our togetherness,
we gather here tonight to do our little to expunge intolerance,
divisiveness and hatred from the human race and the world,
Manasco said, calmly. While Manascos words mentioned doing
just a littleto the thousands of faculty, staff and students
gatheredher composed presence meant a lot.
Manasco stood center stage not only at the Quadrangles candlelight
vigil the night following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but appeared
at several other campuswide events designed to ease the pain of
the Emory community. In between, she managed the SGAs 14-member
executive board, which organized many of those events, often with
only a few hours of planning.
The office of SGA president requires a multitude of leadership
skills, and from practically the moment Manasco took the title,
she was tested in ways perhaps no other Emory student leader had
been before. That she passed every test was a testament to her talent
and helped make her a worthy recipient of the 2002 Lucius Lamar
McMullan Award.
The McMullan award is given each year to a graduating senior who
exhibits outstanding citizenship, exceptional leadership and
potential for service to his or her community, the nation and the
world.
Dealing with the commitments I made, not only to myself but
to other people, was definitely complicated but it was an incredible
learning experience, Manasco said. The crisis management
aspect [of this year] was unlike any experience Ill ever havefor
better or worse.
A political science major who wrote her honors thesis on representations
of women in state legislatures, Manasco plans to use the $20,000
grant that accompanies the award to finance graduate work at Oxford
College in England.
Throughout her college career, Manasco was no stranger to leadership.
Not only did she lead SGA, but she also was president of her sorority,
Kappa Kappa Gamma, which won the Emory Deans Cup for Fraternal
Excellence (the Universitys highest Greek honor).
She served as a member of the student concerns committee for the
Presidents Commission on the Status of Women, was a member
of the Barkley Forum debate society and was a FAME student leader.
Manasco also belongs to a half-dozen academic honor societies.
I had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience what Emory
has to offer and dabble in a lot of different things, Manasco
said. I took it knowing the risks that were involved and definitely
would make the same decision all over again.
She plans to travel this summer, as well as spend time at home
in Montgomery, Ala., where she volunteers with Alabama Girls State,
a mock government program for teenage girls.
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