Photo By Lewis Hilburn | Michele Thrower-Shank, DFAS Columbus IT specialist, is this years recipient of the...... read more read more
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The 2020 Carter G. Woodson awardees were announced during the Defense Supply Center Columbus' African American and Black History Month celebration Feb. 19 and a Defense Finance and Accounting employee was among the recipients.
Carter G. Woodson is widely considered to be the father of Black History when he pioneered the celebration of Negro History week in 1926. The famous American was an author, journalist, the academic dean of West Virginia Collegiate Institute (now West Virginia State University), established the scholarly publication entitled The Journal of Negro History and formed the African-American owned Associates Publishers Press.
This year's award recipient is Michele Thrower-Shank, DFAS Columbus IT specialist.
Michele grew up 20 miles east of Pittsburgh in a small town called New Kensington, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of a minister and was the youngest of seven children.
After completing high school, Michele attended Chatham College in Pittsburgh. "During my summers out of school, I worked as a computer clerk at Wright Patterson Air Force Base," she said. In 1984, she earned her Bachelor's degree in Business administration and a minor in Math and Computer Science. After her graduation, she had an interview with the government and subsequently offered a position in the intern training program at DLA Systems Automation Center (DSAC) in 1985. She's proudly been working for the government for 35 years.
Michele, a single parent, always stressed the importance of education to her daughter. "My daughter, Octavia Anderson, graduated from Duquesne University with a Nursing Degree. She works in ICU at UPMC in Pittsburgh." Octavia is currently enrolled at Robert Morris University, where she is working on her Nurse Practitioner doctorate.
Things hit home for Michele when she visited the men's shelter for the first time. "I saw someone that I knew and I talked with them and encouraged them to get their life back on track." Because of her encouragement, the individual went to Columbus State and received his associate's degree.
"The individual is working, has their own place and never looked back," she proudly stated. "This is when I knew that you never know how much you can make a difference in someone's life. I still serve and provide toiletries to the men's shelter today."
Michele is active in her church, which helped fulfill her passion for serving others. "I assist with the Missionary program at church, sing in the choir as well as volunteer my time at the homeless shelter," she stated. She is also the program chair for the Federally Employed Women and they coordinate visits with the Kroger Food Pantry. Michele strongly believes it is important to give back to the community, "so that information can be shared and passed down for generations to come."
It was not a single act that led her to the Carter G. Woodson award though. It was the collection of her work and volunteerism. Her citation sums this up perfectly, "Ms. Thrower-Shank's impact on her community can be seen throughout her 34-year federal career, major contributions to the FEW organization, volunteerism within the church and community, and devotion to building a strong family."
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.22.2020 13:09 |
| Story ID: | 385623 |
| Location: | INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, US |
| Hometown: | COLUMBUS, OHIO, US |
| Hometown: | NEW KENSINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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