Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2005

Contact: Angie Joe
713.743.8153 (office)
713.617.7138 (pager)
ajoe@uh.edu

HOUSTON, Feb. 22, 2005 – Presidential Classroom (PC), a national civic organization, has named University of Houston freshman Shar-day Campbell its 2004 Honors Graduate of the Year.

Campbell was selected out of nearly 4,700 students nationwide who were recognized for their accomplishments during high school.

In 2003, she participated in PC as a senior at John Foster Dulles High School. Campbell enrolled in the Media and Democracy program, which was one of eight leadership development experiences offered by PC.

Within one year of PC graduation, Honors Graduates volunteer 50 hours of government service or political activity. A communications major at UH, Campbell volunteered for State Sen. Rodney Ellis during the 2004 Hip Hop Summit, a voter education and mobilization effort aimed to increase voter participation.

“Shar-day is an energetic, highly intelligent and extremely talented young woman, so it is certainly no surprise to me that she has risen to the top of her class,” Ellis said. “She demonstrated her ability to achieve great results and connect with others last year when she worked with us on the Hip Hop Summit mobilizing young voters. I congratulate her and have no doubt whatsoever that she will be a great success as she moves forward in her career.”

“Our Honors Graduates are a select group of students who have gone a step further and turned the lessons learned here at Presidential Classroom into action,” said Jack Buechner, PC president and CEO.

An essay by Campbell appears in PC’s 2005 Outlook textbook, which is distributed to incoming program participants.

“Presidential Classroom gave me an opportunity to explore the relationship between media and democracy,” she said. “For instance, we talked about the responsibility of journalists in wartime. The highlight was when my caucus selected me as an anchorperson for our live broadcast. I was also inspired by U.S. Rep. John Lewis, one of the Big Six in the Civil Rights Movement, when he talked about his quest for equality and his relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

She is the daughter of Tammie Lang-Campbell and Dennis Campbell and a native of Missouri City.

“I chose to attend the University of Houston because of its exemplary communications program, and because Houston’s Public Radio affiliate KUHF and Public Broadcasting affiliate KUHT are based on campus,” she said. “Its diverse student body was also a plus for me.”

Campbell hopes to one day host her own talk show on American culture issues including education, health, economic, media, politics and education.

PC was founded in 1968 when President John F. Kennedy challenged young Americans to commit to public service. Participants are high school juniors and seniors with at least a 3.0 grade point average.

For more information about PC, go to www.presidentialclassroom.org.

About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.