UW-Whitewater sophomore named 'Youth Peacemaker of the Year'

October 24, 2008

Through her efforts to spread peace and awareness throughout the state, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater sophomore Karen Drydyk of Fort Atkinson was named the Youth Peacemaker of the Year for 2008 by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.

Drydyk is the founder and president of the UW-Whitewater student organization P.E.A.C.E. (Peace, Education, and Activism through Creative Engagement). She formed P.E.A.C.E at the beginning of the spring 2008 semester to support collaborative and peaceful solutions to problems from interpersonal to international. The organization is now comprised of 20 to 30 actively involved students who meet in the University Center, room 261 on Wednesdays from 5:30-6:30 p.m. The organization is open to all students and Drydyk believes UW-Whitewater students can all help reach P.E.A.C.E’s goals and aspirations if everyone works together.

“Peace should be the end goal of humanity as a whole,” said Drydyk. “We can work together for a better world for all, not merely for the individual advancement of the few.”

Currently, Drydyk and P.E.A.C.E are working on a new project, creating a petition to have UW-Whitewater become a sister school for a primary school in war-torn Uganda. The project will help aide the Schools for Schools program, a campaign to better the quality of the educational system in northern Uganda.

“A large fundraiser is currently being set up that will include a number of other student groups to join in our cause,” added Drydyk. “We need 1,000 student signatures to submit to the UW-Whitewater Student Government to just apply to be a sister school. We need all the help we can get from UW-Whitewater students.”

If you would like to get involved with P.E.A.C.E or the fundraiser, contact Drydyk at drydykKR23@uww.edu or at 262-949-6736.