WASHINGTON, PA (July 20, 2016) - Washington & Jefferson College (W&J) senior Ty Greenwood is the winner of an Emma Award for his efforts to promote diversity on campus and in the media.
The Emma Bowen Foundation presents awards annually to six students who excelled in a specific area over the course of the year. Greenwood took home The Emma for Ubuntu, awarded to students who show a sense of community and togetherness in their work.
“I was shocked. I really was,” said Greenwood, who has been a member of The Emma Bowen Foundation since his senior year of high school. “I’m just really proud that it was because of the work I’m doing at W&J. I’m proud to be part of campus and be a President, and I’m excited that the award brought something to the College.”
Bowen Foundation students intern with a corporate sponsor while in college, with the goal of promoting diversity in the media. Greenwood has interned in the television news department at KDKA in Pittsburgh, Pa. since 2013, where he has written anchor packages and worked on Pittsburgh Today Live. Before working with KDKA, he interned with Pittsburgh Black Media Federation.
At W&J, Greenwood works to encourage conversations about diversity and create opportunities for the campus community to celebrate differences.
Greenwood, an active member of W&J’s student theatre program, challenged the Communication Arts staff in 2014 to select plays that include people of diverse backgrounds, or to write something original. The department responded in a big way, and premiered the original play “Intersect” in the spring of 2016.
“Intersect,” written by W&J Professor William Cameron, focuses on a group of college students who, as Cameron said, “live on the perimeter of mainstream society.” They bring diversity to the stage in the form of race, religion, gender and disability. The students struggle – and learn – to understand each other while dealing with another problem on campus: a student’s anti-administration rant on a campus radio show that sets tension high.
Greenwood is an inaugural member of W&J’s Charles West Fellows. This group of black male scholars carries out the legacy of W&J alum Charles West by promoting academic success, leadership and volunteerism on and off the campus. It recently expanded to include women.
Greenwood plans to pursue a master of fine arts in writing for stage and screen, or in dramatic writing.
“I want to have my own production company, but I want to come at it from different angles,” Greenwood said. “I want to be able to write, direct, and produce, and keep finding ways to influence change.”
About Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, located in Washington, Pa., is a selective liberal arts college founded in 1781. Committed to providing each of its students with the highest-quality undergraduate education available, W&J offers a traditional arts and sciences curriculum emphasizing interdisciplinary study and independent study work. For more information about W&J, visit washjeff.dev, or call 888-W-AND-JAY.
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