Brandy Rippon, an English major from Marcus, Washington, with minors in political science and women’s and gender studies, will receive the William A. Garrigan, S.J., Award as the undergraduate who has achieved the highest cumulative grade-point average.
Gonzaga’s undergraduate commencement ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m., Sunday, May 8 in the Spokane Arena. The ceremony is among Gonzaga’s three 123rd commencement exercises May 6-8.
Next year, she plans to pursue a master’s in teaching degree. Since coming to Gonzaga, Rippon has realized her passion for helping others. In addition to working at the Writing Center, Rippon has contributed her time at Second Harvest food bank, and has been involved in a number of mentoring programs through the Center for Community Action and Service-Learning.
Also, she served as an editor for The Fringe, Gonzaga’s gender and sexuality focused literary and art magazine.
“Gonzaga has helped me be more aware of social justice issues,” Rippon said. “I’ve met a lot of people here who are super passionate about so many things that it’s made me want to be more passionate about things in my life.”
She hopes to become a teacher who has a positive influence on her students.
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