ADA 鈥� Former East Central University standout Tana Lala-Pritchard has been named a 2020 Distinguished Alumna by the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society in recognition of her outstanding career work thus far.
This award recognizes high-achieving university graduates amongst the top 10 percent in the U.S. who have used their academic excellence and scholarship to build a career of outstanding service and leadership for the greater good.
鈥淧ouring myself into my studies was my salvation and the thing that always got me noticed,鈥� said Lala-Pritchard. 鈥淭he pursuit of academic excellence was my only way to succeed and take charge of my life, the thing from which you can only grow 鈥� both personally and professionally 鈥搃f you work hard at it.鈥�
After earning bachelor鈥檚 degrees in both Political Science and Business Administration from 成人B站 in 2002, with the highest academic honors, Lala-Pritchard earned her master鈥檚 degree in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science. At 成人B站, she was the first international college student to receive the George Nigh Governor鈥檚 Award as the top graduate in Oklahoma.
Lala-Pritchard is currently the executive director of Strategy, Innovation and Communications at WorldFish, a non-profit research and innovation institution that creates, advances and translates scientific research on aquatic food systems into scalable solutions with a transformational impact on human well-being and the environment.
鈥淎s the daughter of a highly-accomplished Albanian intellectual and political dissident in one of the most oppressive communist regimes in the world, Tana has embraced her father鈥檚 calling to push and advocate for transformational change of unjust and inequitable governance and socio-economic systems,鈥� said Dr. Christine Pappas, 成人B站 Political Science department chair and one of Lala-Pritchard鈥檚 early undergraduate professors.
Alpha Chi recognized Lala-Pritchard for her outstanding communications and advocacy work at the intersection of science, policy, business and social entrepreneurship with actors across the public and private sectors to shape evidence-based investments, innovations and policy on critical issues such as climate action, food security and nutrition, ocean governance, gender equality, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.
鈥淭he Alpha Chi National Committee agreed that the trait that made Tana鈥檚 nomination stand apart was the match of her character and background with the tenets that Alpha Chi espouses as a society of scholars,鈥� said Dr. David K. Jones, the organization鈥檚 president. 鈥淭ana鈥檚 work with an impressive array of international development organizations to advocate for human rights, gender equality, climate action, environmental sustainability and humanitarian causes is replete with character and scholarship being applied for the greater good.鈥�
In her Distinguished Alumna address to this year鈥檚 virtual Alpha Chi Convention, Lala-Pritchard described an inspiring and incredible personal journey of overcoming tremendous adversities as an immigrant child in the U.S. She left her home country of Albania following civil unrest and conflict that came with the fall of the iron curtain and the toppling of communism across Eastern Europe in the 1990s.
鈥淚 still remember my first day of class in Introduction to Political Philosophy,鈥� Lala-Pritchard said. 鈥淲e used the Socratic method of inquiry to explore Plato鈥檚 cave allegory. It is essentially an exercise that teaches you that the real world is much bigger than the immediate world of your cave. To find the true meaning and purpose of existence and come to terms with who you truly are, you must abandon your cave and learn to challenge your own beliefs and assumptions through the constant pursuit of knowledge and experiences that stretch you.鈥�
To read much more about Lala-Pritchard鈥檚 impressive journey, visit www.alphachihonor.org. To start your own exciting journey at 成人B站, visit www.ecok.edu/apply.
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