Commencement Profile: Amanda R. Pratt

Amanda Pratt graduates with bachelor of arts degrees in physical geography and writing and a minor in environmental science, attaining a 3.92 GPA. She has a distinguished record that exemplifies academic performance, citizenship, leadership, and creativity.

Pratt will receive the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence during the 2:00 p.m. baccalaureate ceremony at Buffalo State’s 141st Commencement, Saturday, May 18, in the Sports Arena.

Pratt continually demonstrated the ability to understand material taught in class and then apply it to real-world activities. She participated in Geography and Planning Department field courses in Thailand, the Bahamas, and the Adirondacks and interned with Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and Hawk Creek Wildlife Center, where she continued on in volunteer service as a wildlife educator and raptor handler. She will be traveling to Santiago, Chile, this June as part of a global service-learning sociology course.

In the area of citizenship, she served as editorial assistant for the journal Middle States Geographer, an orientation leader for the Geography and Planning Department, a tutor in the Buffalo State Writing Center, layout editor and board member of Elm Leaves literary and arts magazine, and vice president of the Alpha Pi Chi chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society.

On campus, Pratt has been a member of the Buffalo State Student Chapter of the New York Water Environment Association, the Wilderness Adventure Club, and Spanish Club. Off campus, she has volunteered at Porter Farms’ community supported agriculture (CSA) program and helped to plan and build a community garden at the Asarese-Matters Community Center. She also coordinated a writing workshop with students at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts as well as a blog project designed to praise the students’ individuality.

Additionally, in summer 2012, Pratt thru-hiked 500 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon and Washington, highlighting the determination and love for the outdoors that has marked her time on the Buffalo State campus.