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Shawn Abad

Shawn Abad’s nominator tells an interesting story about how they first met. She wrote, “I have had the pleasure of working with many students this year, particularly in Pritchard Hall. Pritchard started out the year pretty lively, and the first Friday night that I walked through the building, I was astonished by the amount of garbage all over the hallways and bathroom floors. I sent a building-wide email asking students to please work together in their halls to clean up the trash and keep their community clean. I also told them that at 6 p.m. on Sunday, I would be coming to do an inspection of the halls, and any stretch that was still dirty would be written up and charged for housekeeping.

“When I arrived Sunday to do the walk through, the halls looked amazing! It was like night and day. As I was walking on the 5th floor I saw a young man down the hall with a dustpan and small broom. I introduced myself and thanked him for cleaning up his hallway. His name was Shawn, and he informed me that he lived on the first floor. He had spent most of the weekend cleaning ALL of the floors in Pritchard.

“I was blown away by that and had a great conversation with him. He shared with me that last year, in Miles Hall, he befriended his custodian. While living in Miles, Shawn urged residents to take responsibility for any mess they made. He would pick up hallway and bathroom trash, even if he didn’t know who was responsible for it. Shawn’s work and dedication to Pritchard this semester is an extension of the love and care he showed to the Miles Hall community last year.”

Shawn said, “The way I show respect is to always see someone as a person, appreciate their works and accomplishments, while also acknowledging their struggles and aspirations. I have a high level of respect for the housekeeping staff. Some residents only see the staff as people who clean the residence hall. I see the staff as hard-working people who earn a salary and provide us with a service that needs to be appreciated.”

Shawn went on to say, “Residents, student leaders, and even a VTPD officer have taken notice of the difference I’ve made in Pritchard Hall, my home away from home. To me, civility means behavior that expresses a sense of good manners. Whether it’s actions, words, around people or unseen, there is never a wrong time to practice civility.”

Shawn said, “I am most proud of still being me despite what life has thrown at me. I have grown and matured, but I’ve maintained my core self.”

Shawn is a sophomore majoring in Ocean Engineering. He said, “I have a passion for fine arts like drawing and sketching even though I am in engineering. To incorporate both, I’ve looked at a design role in engineering.” He said he plans to “become an engineer and help others achieve greatness.”

I am honored to present the Aspire! Award for practice CIVILITY to Shawn Abad.