Princeton senior Shannon Brink will receive the 2009 International Service Award, which is presented annually by the Davis International Center to a student or student group in recognition of cross-cultural humanitarian endeavors.
Brink will receive the award at a ceremony at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, in 101 McCormick Hall. The ceremony is open to the public.
Brink will be recognized for her leadership in connecting the University chapter of Engineers Without Borders with villagers in Huamanzana, Peru. She led efforts to help local residents with sustainable projects such as developing solar-powered electrical lighting for a school and enhancing fuel efficiency and air quality through improved cooking stoves.
Brink, who is from Denver, is a major in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She was selected in 2008 as an undergraduate participant in the Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative, a scholarship program designed to encourage and prepare students seeking to pursue careers in the U.S. government.
In addition to Brink's award, the Davis International Center will present honorary citations to juniors Michael Smith and Peter Dunbar, who founded the Piñas de Paz ("Pineapples for Peace") initiative in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City last summer. Smith and Dunbar created a ceramic art project for local youths that helped defuse violence in the gang-ridden areas of the neighborhood and inspired support from various community organizations, donors and volunteers to extend their summer endeavor into a yearlong project.