| Athena of the Month By: Jennifer Biscuti Amanda Karpa is a shining example of how you can never do too much to better yourself and your community. As an 18-year-old at Seton Hall University, Amanda has applied her passions to all aspects of her life. She is an advocate for autism awareness, and has participated in the Autism Speaks Walk for the past few years. As part of a leadership program on campus, Amanda has been planning initiatives to bring autism awareness to her university, and helping to educate incoming students on the disability support services the university has to offer. “It’s so important that students are aware of and educated about autism, as well as the spectrum of other disabilities out there.” During high school, Amanda was voted “Camper of the Year” for her participation at Lindsay Meyers Teen Institute in New Jersey. Following that distinction, Amanda went through a six-month process to become a counselor. As a camp counselor, Amanda was able to help teens find ways to have fun other than using alcohol and drugs. She was even able to counsel teens that were already battling alcohol and drugs addiction. Amanda brought that passion and enthusiasm right to college. She has gone above and beyond to remain both as busy and socially conscious as possible. Once she decided to major in accounting, Amanda was determined to succeed in all facets of this demanding path. She was voted historian of her professional business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi. As part of her fraternity, she is required to do 15 hours of community service a year and attend conventions. She is also a member of an honors leadership organization on campus. In this program, Amanda recruits prospective students by attending open houses and makes suggestions to the Dean about how to improve campus life from a student’s point of view. And, get this, she even admits that she has time for a social life! It is truly amazing what Amanda has been able to accomplish in her first year of college. While it is easy for freshmen students to float through their first year, Amanda exemplifies what it means to be a student leader and a true role model. |
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