Justin Davis, a senior from St. Louis, MO, will receive the Dr. Gerard A. Vanderhaar Student Peace Award on March 31 at the 12th Annual Vanderhaar Symposium held at Christian Brothers University. Each year at the event, the Student Peace Award is given to a Memphis college student who has been involved in peace and justice work in the community.
As a volunteer, Davis has organized a college readiness class for high school students through the Refugee Empowerment Program located in Memphis’ Binghampton community. He began working at Mid-South Peace & Justice Center in 2015, and since then he has become secretary for the Memphis Bus Riders Union, a grassroots organization that advocates for social and economic justice in the city’s public transit system. At Rhodes, Davis is pursuing a double major in English and Greek & Roman Studies and is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society for English, and Eta Sigma Phi Honor Society for Classical Studies. Earlier this year, he spoke on a Rhodes panel with activist and scholar Dr. Angela Davis.
Past Student Peace Award winners from Rhodes include Frankie Dakin in 2013, Anthony Siracusa in 2009, and Laura Dallas McSorley in 2006.