Mansfield University senior Sharon Thomas isn’t exactly sure what career path she wants to follow. But she does want to advance towards the arena of human rights.

           

Now, with a recent prestigious appointment, she appears headed in that direction.

Thomas was recently named student commissioner of Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell’s Advisory Commission on African American Affairs (GACAAA), which seeks to increase the Black community’s access to government resources and opportunities in Pennsylvania. The commission consists of 13 members, including Thomas as well as Dr. Larry Davis, the dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh.

“It is very important to include the student voice in the commission’s dialogue about issues affecting the African-American community,” says Sonya Toler, the commission’s executive director. “Sharon will do an excellent job of providing insight into how issues affect Pennsylvania’s young African-American men and women, and she will help further the commission’s mission in new and exciting ways.”

The GACAA has not had a student commissioner in approximately 10 years. The magnitude of being appointed to such a prominent position still has not hit Thomas, and she says she hopes that it doesn’t.

“If you are going to serve to the best of your ability and to your capacity, then I think you need to be humble,” Thomas says. “You need to step back and say this isn’t for me, this is for the greater good or for whatever person or group that I am going to help. There is so much that we should be doing for each other.”

At Mansfield, Thomas has actively involved herself in several mentoring and leadership programs, including the university’s Mountaineer Leadership Program. In 2004, Thomas was named a Board of Governors Scholar, and last April she was honored with the David H. Russell: Exemplary Leadership & Service Award.