Mason Fuller (in left photo) and Owen Wagner, both with Ethnic and Gender Studies Coordinator Jeanette McVicker, display their Scholar-Activist Award certificates.
Two students have received Scholar-Activist Awards celebrating their academic excellence and community activism on behalf of inclusion, equity and diversity.
Both recipients — Owen Wagner, of Tonawanda, NY, and Mason Fuller, Kill Buck, NY, — are seniors majoring in Ethnic and Gender Studies.
The Ethnic and Gender Studies (EGS) advisory board unanimously supported the recommendation, said EGS Coordinator Jeanette McVicker. The scholarships, supported through the Fredonia College Foundation, were awarded in the newly created EGS Lounge on the second floor of Fenton Hall. The scholarship recognizes EGS majors who carry a 3.5 GPA or higher, who also engage in significant activism that advances the diverse aims of ethnic and gender studies as interdisciplinary fields.
Mr. Fuller, who is also an Adolescent Education: Social Studies major, and Wagner, a participant in the Honors Program, both recently presented research that originated in the EGS Social Change capstone course with Dr. McVicker, not only at Fredonia's OSCAR Expo last spring, but also at SUNY Cortland's annual conference on diversity in early November 2025.
Wagner, currently a social outreach and community engagement intern at Reed Library, plans to pursue graduate work in library and information science following graduation. Fuller also plans to pursue graduate work, in history, as part of his plan to teach at the high school level. He is student teaching at Cassadaga (NY) High School, his alma mater, this semester.
McVicker expressed pride in Fuller and Wagner's many achievements that showcase the strengths and diversity encompassed by the Ethnic and Gender Studies major.
Wagner is doing great work on how digital archival access can help promote healing for Native communities who saw their sacred artifacts confiscated by libraries and museums in the past, McVicker said. “EGS provides a strong foundation in ethnic studies for his career path in library and information science," she said.
"Mason's emphasis on civic history and student engagement was recently showcased on a panel for the American Democracy Project, and demonstrates the benefits of linking EGS with other majors such as education," McVicker said.
