News

By Mattie Thomas

Lee University recently announced Emma Posey winner of the 2021 F.J. Lee Award. Posey is a senior political science and biblical and theological studies double major from Cordele, Georgia.

This annual award was established in 1968 in honor of the second president of Lee University. It is presented to the Lee senior with the overall most outstanding record of st udent achievement. Award winners demonstrate high standards of integrity, leadership, service, broad campus involvement, and academic excellence. Each department may nominate one student for the award, and from these nominees, a winner is selected by a faculty vote.

“Emma is a student who delights in building connections between her studies and the people that she comes in contact with,” said Dr. Thomas Pope, associate professor of political science at Lee. “I have been thrilled to see her mature in both her studies and her character, seeing how each relates to the other. Emma’s holistic excellence seems precisely the sort of thing that one would hope to produce at a Christian University.”

During her time at Lee, Posey presented research papers and presentations at Pi Sigma Alpha National, the national political science honor society; Poster on the Hill, a prestigious undergraduate research event that celebrates the work of the 60 accepted students; the American Enterprise Institute Initiative, a public policy think tank; the Heritage Foundation Academy, a 12-week virtual educational and leadership program; and the McNair-Ledford Symposium, an undergraduate research symposium. She also served as the vice president of stewardship for Kairos, Lee’s honors scholar program.

Posey has served as a reading, language arts, and mathematics tutor for the university and as a teaching assistant in the School of Religion. She has worked as a resident assistant for Residential Life and Housing and was a student worker for Lee’s Political Science Department, Theology Department, and the Campus Ministries Office.

She also spoke in multiple chapel services and led an Urban Outreach trip, an event organized by the university to serve the community, and was a member of Evangelical Singers and the Black Student Union, a club that helps promote the voices of Lee’s Black and other minority students across campus.

“Emma’s passion for growth and change within our political systems, as well as within the hearts and lives of her peer group, have truly been inspirational to watch, learn, and grow alongside,” said Meagan Allen, coordinator of discipleship ministries at Lee. “I look forward to how the Lord will continue to use her in the years to come as a catalyst for all the work that He is doing within our nation and this generation.”

Posey served in the community by volunteering with the Isaiah 117 House, an organization that provides a space for foster children while they await placement; the Cleveland Emergency Shelter; Y-CAP Community after-school program; and Cordele Youth Build, which provides low-income, out-of-work young adults ages 16 to 24 an opportunity to become productive members of their communities.

“I am deeply grateful for the people and opportunities I have encountered at Lee, and I hope to continue honoring Lee’s legacy in my future endeavors,” said Posey. “I am honored to receive this award as it reflects the excellent care, scholarship, and time my professors and mentors have invested in my holistic formation.”

Posey, nominated by both the Theology Department and the History, Political Science, and Humanities Department, will graduate this May.

After graduation, Posey will start working as the coalitions and personnel manager at American Moment, a new political organization on Capitol Hill. She also plans to continue conducting research as a research and production assistant for the Realignment podcast as well as a research assistant with the Institute for Family Studies.

Posey was recognized for this honor during a special chapel service in April.