Tamara Garraway
Moravian College
During her three years at Moravian College, Tamara has served as a living example of our Moravian College tradition of community care and neighborly respect. From the moment Tamara arrived on campus, her passion for the greater good and for harnessing her own ability for positive change was evident in each facet of her collegiate career. In her choice of concentration, in her choice of extracurricular activities, and in her choice of volunteerism, Tamara exemplifies Moravian College's liberal arts tradition of transformative leadership in a world of change.
She has worked with students, faculty and staff to create an environment of education, growth and partnership. In addition to her involvement in the Black Student Union and United Student Government, Tamara serves as a volunteer at our local Boys and Girls Club, engaging frequently with younger community members in programs related to mentorship and positive youth development. It is with this role that Tamara has truly refined her civic engagement, expanding her actions from sheer volunteerism to passionate programmatic intervention against systemic oppression.
Personal Statement
During my time as a YMCA summer camp counselor I started noticing how issues of racial and economic inequality impacts families and the community. Through various different platforms and research I realized that a lot of the issues of racial and economic inequality are systematic and change won't be effective until systems are reconstructed and opportunities are based on equity. On campus I am involved in various leadership positions such as United Student Government, the Black Student Union where I served as president but now I am still involved as the head of the planning committee. The Black Student Union actively supports the fight of racial and economic inequality on campus and in the community through our programming and community service work. Recently, we started visiting kids at the Boys and Girls Club. Our mission was to serve as positive role models to children of color who may be economically disadvantaged. After reflecting, I realized that this visit was a small piece in the puzzle, in order to help a community where the residents are victims of racial and economic disadvantage we must analyze the systems that impact them the most such as housing and education systems.
