Despite facing some major obstacles, Shawnee Acker, an Administration of Justice student, is having the time of her life at Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Acker has been selected to receive the 2008 Penn State Wilkes-Barre Outstanding Adult Learner Award. This is quite an achievement for someone who, less than three years ago, was involved in a life-threatening car accident that left her confined to a wheelchair.
While in the hospital, Acker had to re-learn how to walk. During her rehabilitation period, she made the decision to begin taking on-line courses at Penn State University. It was after she was discharged from the hospital that Acker became a full-time student at the Wilkes-Barre campus.
Not only does she excel in the classroom by maintaining a 3.0 GPA, Acker also serves as a volunteer at the Soup Kitchen in Scranton and at Saint Mary's Villa Nursing Home. She is also the president of the Local Environmental Revolution Club and a member of the Honor Society.
Currently working as an intern at the United States Probation Office for the Middle States of Pennsylvania, Acker is in the process of completing her Administration of Justice degree from Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
