Peace Award commends outreach work

“At first I thought I was in trouble,” recalled senior Brandy Allen when she received a note to the counselor’s office during class, telling her to stop by during Learn.

Upon Allen’s apprehensive arrival, career center specialist Gardner Humphreys congratulated Allen on being one of the 11 students in Fairfax County to be awarded the Student Peace Award.

“I didn’t even know what it was, initially,” Allen said.

First awarded in 2006, the Student Peace Award is awarded to students who demonstrate a commitment to peace by resolving conflicts of either local or global importance.

“Each school is asked to devise its own selection method,” said chair of the Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County Committee Margaret Rogers via email.

According to Rogers, “Marshall described its selection process as follows … ‘a scholarship committee made up of mostly counselors chose the winner.’”

Rogers noted that her committee would not have used the word “winner” because there are no losers.

According to a press release from the Student Peace Awards of Fairfax County Committee, the Marshall scholarship committee awarded Allen for her involvement in activities such as Model United Nations, Octagon Club and volunteer work at a conservation biology lab at Georgetown University.

Humphreys was one of the members of the scholarship committee.

According to Humphreys, Allen’s name came up multiple times during committee meetings.

“I thought it was impressive, the stuff [Allen] had done,” Humphreys said.

Though Humphreys said that he did not know Allen personally, once he read about her work in Octagon Club and Model UN he could

“definitely see why she won.”

“I was flattered and really surprised,” Allen said when she discovered that the scholarship committee had nominated her for the award.

Allen was also awarded one hundred dollars and will be presented with a certificate for the award at the awards ceremony at the end of the year.