Junior Grace Farley, who is majoring in social work and Plan II Honors Program, is the recipient of a 2021 President’s Leadership Award from the Texas Exes. This award recognizes undergraduate students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership within the student community at The University of Texas. One sophomore, two juniors and three seniors receive the award annually. The award was created in 1985 with an endowment from past Texas Exes president Frank Denius.
Farley’s leadership practices are nothing short of personal. As a first-generation Latina student from Keller, Texas, Farley has committed herself to helping other first-generation students on campus. She piloted a First-Generation Student LLC with 51 students that has now grown to serve 100. In this role, she led hour-long workshops every other week, with topics varying from life-skills to impostor syndrome to career exploration. She has also helped to improve first-generation students’ visibility on campus through her work serving on the UT Senate of College Councils, the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center Student Advisory Committee, and on the Plan II Honors First-Gen Task Force.