Ashlie Prain Earns Marga Award

2017 Jun 1

Ashlie Prain is the recipient of Valdosta State University's 2017 Sigma Alpha Chi Marga Award.

"I am so grateful to have received this award," said the 31-year-old from Valdosta. "I would like to thank my professors and especially my mentor, Dr. Matthew Richard [a professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice], who has taught me so much about the world while inspiring me to excel and help others."

Sigma Alpha Chi is the oldest honor society at VSU. To be considered for the Marga Award, Prain had to demonstrate academic superiority and an active participation in campus organizations. She was recognized during VSU's annual Academic Honors and Awards Dinner.

Prain is a member of Alpha Kappa Delta: The International Sociology Honor Society and Phi Sigma Tau: The International Honor Society for Philosophers. She is president of the Anthropology Club and secretary of the Educational Animal Rights Organization. She served as president of the Sociology Club from 2015 to 2016.

A regular on the Dean's List, Prain has earned numerous other accolades, including the 2017 Anthropology Student of the Year Award, 2016 Franz Boas Award for Excellence in Ethnographic Writing, 2016 American Association of University Women Award, and 2016 Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges Award. She presented research papers at the 2017 and 2016 Southern Anthropological Society Annual Meeting, the 2016 Georgia Sociological Society Annual Meeting, and the 2014 Southern Anthropological Society Annual Meeting.

Prain expects to graduate in December 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and anthropology and a minor in environmental studies. She would like to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy in cultural or applied anthropology.

"I want to empower southern rural communities while educating youth on animal rights issues," said the daughter of Jimmy and Michelle Bean.

On the Web:

http://www.valdosta.edu/colleges/arts-sciences/

http://www.valdosta.edu/administration/advancement/event-services/special-events/awards-honors.php

About Valdosta State University:

Established in 1906, Valdosta State University is a premier comprehensive university that offers both the extensive academic, cultural, and social opportunities of a major university and the small classes and close, personal attention of smaller institutions. It boasts more than 100 degree, certificate, and endorsement programs on campus and online for undergraduate and graduate students. It also has a full menu of extracurricular activities, from national championship athletic and academic teams to honors organizations, sororities and fraternities, intramural sports, educational and service clubs, a symphony orchestra, art and theatre, research opportunities, and more. Even as underclassmen, students file patents on inventions and make life-changing scientific discoveries, present at national and international conferences, publish research in collaboration with their professors, work in campus-based clinics that benefit the community, live and learn at partner institutions around the globe through study abroad, and more. The possibilities are endless.