Twelve young Penn State alumni were honored for outstanding professional accomplishment and presented with the Penn State Alumni Association's Alumni Achievement Award at a dinner ceremony March 27, 2015 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College, PA. These prominent alumni, 35 years of age and younger, are nominated by an academic college or campus and invited by the president of the University to return to campus to share their expertise with students and the Penn State community. Alumni Achievement honorees demonstrate to students that Penn State alumni succeed in exceptional fashion at an early age.
2015 award recipient, Sharifa T. Anozie, a 2008 graduate of the College of Communications, represented Penn State Schuylkill. She is currently a writer and owner of The Sacred Word, an L.A. based jewelry line.
Anozie interviewed prominent civil rights advocate Carolyn Goodman, and her poem dedicated to Goodman, was recognized by major media outlets. She has interviewed celebrities, including film director Spike Lee, CNN's Piers Morgan, actor Idris Elba, and Grammy Award-winning artist Ne-Yo. Anozie worked on assignments for CBS on The Early Show, 48 Hours, and the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, and on BET's 106 & Park. She is an editorial assistant at The Hollywood Reporter magazine, writing for print and online, and covering red carpet events and awards in Hollywood.
Each award recipient received a commemorative medal designed by internationally recognized artist and 2007 Alumni Fellow Jeanne Stevens-Sollman, '72g. Honorees also met with students on the Thursday night before the event at the Hintz Family Alumni Center, sharing insight on their successes in life and business.
