Monday, April 6, 2009

WPPL Student Wins Prestigious Scholarship

Congratulations to Kyrie Bannar, a Women, Policy and Political Leadership certificate student, on winning the prestigious Truman Scholarship, given to only 60 students in the United States every year. With the $30,000 she will receive as a result of this award, she hopes to attend Georgetown University's combined JD/MPP program and then go on to work as a legal advocate for survivors of domestic violence.

Kyrie's work in domestic violence awareness has been unparalleled. She created the Women's Issues in Secondary Education (WISE) program to address the lack of education about the issue in high schools. As part of WISE, Kyrie taught a group of 20 students about the startling statistics surrounding domestic violence in high school relationships. She has also worked in DC as part of Survivors and Advocates for Empowerment (SAFE), through which she serves as an advocate with the Metropolitan Police, working night shifts with officers who answer domestic violence calls.

Kyrie has taken several courses with the Institute surrounding this issue, including Women and the Law, which offers a look at historic Supreme Court cases and gives students the opportunity to argue mock cases and Women, the Law and Litigating for Social Change, which takes a social movement approach to the law. Though she is only just starting officially with the WPPL program, we are excited to celebrate her accomplishments and look forward to her addition to the WPI family for her senior year and beyond.