牧师. 弗农•沃克 credits his faith and his time at 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 for giving him direction in his life and career.
阿宾顿,爸爸. ——当牧师. 弗农K. 沃克就读于 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校, he was a bit of an outlier — a nontraditional student juggling a full-time job with a full course load. 然而, 在他完成学位后的12年里, 沃克 has positioned himself at one of the centers of the social justice movement, specifically tackling climate justice issues at the intersection of systemic racism, 环境和公共卫生.
“I’m where I am today because 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 was my launching pad他说。. “这是一个很好的地方，让我找到了自己的激情和道路."
沃克的轨迹将他带到了马萨诸塞州, where he has earned master’s degrees in theology and social work from Boston University and in public policy from Tufts University while working with vulnerable populations as a case manager, 社区组织者, 副牧师和政治信仰组织者.
He was named a 2022 Neighborhood Fellow in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts. The fellowship is awarded to mid-career master’s candidates from underrepresented groups with deep leadership experience in urban community politics, 经济学, 教育和住房.
同时完成他的硕士学位课程, 沃克 spent several years at Communities Responding to Extreme Weather and with the Better Futures Project in strategic planning and fund raising.
2023年夏天, he joined Boston-based Clean Water Action as its climate justice program director, focusing on policies and legislation that will offer those disadvantaged by racial, social, economic and other barriers a voice in the climate transition process.
“我做了很多政策倡导工作, and I work on bills in the Statehouse such as one to improve indoor and outdoor air quality for residents of low-quality rentals,沃克说. "I work in coalition with other organizations and advocate for regulatory bodies to offer more equity for energy efficiency in the state."
在腾讯分分彩平台官网分校的学生时代, 弗农•沃克 took advantage of opportunities to study abroad and lead the 阿宾顿 Christian Fellowship student organization.
是什么启发了沃克, 在费城西部和北部出生长大的人, 在这样一个充满挑战的领域开创事业? 沃克列举了两个因素:他的信仰和他在阿宾顿的经历.
“While I was at 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 I was preaching in local churches, 在监狱工作，给无家可归的人提供食物他说。. "I took a speech communications class that helped make everything I was doing easier. Penn State gave me a starting point with a really good liberal arts education, and I benefited by getting a degree from an internationally recognizable university. 我很高兴我上的是十大名校."
沃克, 他是家里第一个获得大学学位的人, was working full-time for a human services nonprofit when he transferred to 阿宾顿 after earning an associate degree in psychology at another institution. His union’s tuition reimbursement plan helped ease the cost of earning a degree.
“I worked straight through every weekend so I could attend class during the week他说。. 我在英国学习了一门嵌入式课程, I was inducted into Alpha Sigma Lamba national adult honor society, 我是阿宾顿基督教联谊会的主席."
沃克 cited several faculty and staff for their support, including 撒拉族Ghahramani, associate professor of business law and international law and policy; 罗伯特•霍夫曼, assistant teaching professor; the late Ross Brinkert, associate professor of Corporate Communication; and 丹Meuleners, the campus finance officer and adviser to the 阿宾顿 Christian Fellowship.
He traced the inspiration for his move to the Boston area to another faculty member, 瓦Harvell非裔美国人研究副教授.
“I had Valeria for a course on the life and thought of Martin Luther King Jr.他说。. "I still have his biography from that class, 'Bearing the Cross,' and Dr. 金上的是波士顿大学. I was planning on getting my first master’s at Duke, but I moved to Boston instead."
Although 沃克 is now firmly ensconced in New England, he hasn’t left Philadelphia behind. He was selected to be the commencement speaker last year at his alma mater, Murrell Dobbins Career and Technical Education High School in West Philadelphia.
He said the advice he offered to the new Dobbins graduates also applies to 阿宾顿 students: Perseverance and resilience are the keys to being successful in your academic journey and in life.
“追随你的梦想，”沃克说. “在你所做的工作中找到一个让你充满活力的利基. The world needs you to come alive and do something about issues you care about. 是什么让你充满活力?”
关于宾大阿宾顿
腾讯分分彩平台官网分校提供了一个负担得起的, accessible and high-impact education resulting in the success of a diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. 有3个以上,100名学生, 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 is a residential campus that offers baccalaureate degrees in 25 majors, 速成硕士学位, 本科研究, 施赖尔荣誉学院, NCAA三级田径和更多.
