STATE COLLEGE — The State College Area School District Delta Program announced that, due to the efforts of three students of the program, it received a gold-level Pennsylvania Governor’s Civic Engagement Award.
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Civic Engagement Award “celebrates the efforts of Pennsylvania high school students to educate, engage and inform their fellow students about how to get involved in the voting process,” according to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website. The Governor’s Civic Engagement Award is a recognition given to honor and encourage high levels of civic participation among students, particularly in the realm of voter registration and voter engagement.
The award is presented by the Pennsylvania Department of State and the Pennsylvania Department of Education and distinguishes schools at gold and silver levels.
The gold level school award is presented to schools with 85% of its eligible students registered to vote. The silver level school award is given to schools with 65% of eligible students registered to vote. Student ambassadors and the schools receive a plaque and certificate from the secretary of state as a result of meeting the qualifications.
Lorelai Radzanowski, Ana Helfen Wood and Eli Carey, the latter the recipient of the Poll Worker Award, helped the Delta program fulfill the requirements needed for the award during the spring semester.
To achieve the necessary requirements, Radzanowski and Helfen Wood spearheaded a drive to register eligible students in the Delta Program to vote. As a result, they were able to register the required 85% of the eligible students in the program.
Carey was awarded the Poll Worker Award for assisting staff at a local polling station during the 2024 April primary elections. Carey will receive special recognition at a regional recognition event as a result.
The students were supervised by Lynda Hauman, a social studies teacher for the Delta Program. Additional assistance was provided by the League of Women Voters of Centre County, a branch of the nationwide organization that, according to its website, “believes that through informed action, people can make profound changes in their communities.”
The Pennsylvania Departments of State and Education announced on Wednesday, May 29, that 36 schools out of the state’s 500 school districts fulfilled the requirements needed to receive the Governor’s Civic Engagement Award. Of the 36 schools, 18 received gold level status for their efforts.
“These prestigious awards celebrate the efforts of Pennsylvania high school students to register their eligible classmates to vote and to hopefully launch them on a lifelong habit of voting,” Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said in a statement. “Engaging the next generation of voters is crucial to the future health of our representative democracy.”
