Meet Amanda–A Woman Spreading Awareness
Amanda Peterson, who hates being called Mandy, is a junior majoring in journalism and public relations and minors in business administration and marketing. She is from Wilcox, a very small town in Pennsylvania.
Amanda participates in multiple organizations within the campus and the community. She is actively involved as a tutor at the Kathleen Jones White Writing Center where she helps students improve their writing, and she organizes workshops that cover topics such as proofreading and writing cover letters and resumes. Also, for the Health AWAREness Program/ Haven Project, Amanda works as a Peer Educator; these organizations help bring awareness to issues regarding sexual assault and domestic violence. Through this organization, she helped plan a candlelight vigil for the victims of these events; Amanda stated, “I was so worried nobody was going to come but slowly people started to show up and our circle got bigger and bigger and I think that was the moment I realized that I was in the right place.” In addition, as a Peer Educator she was a part of a team that planned an event “Take Back the Night.” Amanda acted as the volunteer coordinator and read a poem based on the 1970’s “Rape” at the Speak-Out.
Besides working two jobs, Amanda is involved within the community as well. Amanda, some of her co-workers, and SAGE displayed a visual involving red solo cups in the Oak Grove that represented sexual assault victims. They started their own hashtag–#3052TooMany. Also, Amanda has helped plant seeds for the Seeding Project in the past. Amanda stated, “When I started working with the Haven Project, something really sparked in me. I am passionate about being a voice for the voiceless.”
When Amanda isn’t busy spreading awareness, she liked to read, write poetry, and dance; which was, and still is, her first love. After graduation, Amanda would like to work in marketing or public relations for either a university or an organization similar to the ones she is currently a part of. Her advice for others is, “Don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself. Don’t be afraid to speak up about things that matter. Also, get involved! It is more than just putting a line on your resume, getting involved also helps you to form lasting bonds and networking opportunities in the future.”
Everybody, meet Amanda Peterson!