Former Milwaukee officer is Outstanding Student honoree

David John Depeau is the May 2012 recipient of the Outstanding Student Award as selected by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Alumni Association.

He will receive the award at a student award ceremony on campus Friday evening, May 11. He will also be recognized from the stage during UW-Green Bay spring commencement the following day.

Depeau, of New Franken, is graduating with summa cum laude (highest) honors. He has three majors: Public Administration, Political Science and Environmental Policy and Planning. He was chosen Outstanding Student from a pool of nominees representing the roughly 900 members of the May graduating class.

Depeau is a returning adult student who enrolled at UW-Green Bay after serving five years as an officer with the Milwaukee Police Department in one of the city’s poorest and most troubled precincts. He says now that while he enjoyed those times when he was able to help people resolve their disputes, the experience deepened his desire to improve himself and his community, and encouraged him to pursue pre-law studies.

At UW-Green Bay, Depeau immersed himself in service and advocacy through involvement in student government and non-profit organizations. He volunteered to become a court-appointed advocate in Brown County for abused and neglected children. As an officer of the Student Government Association, he led a drive to encourage consideration of a new childcare center on campus. He assisted in creation of the institution’s first textbook rental system and establishment of a fund supporting student-led environmental sustainability initiatives.

Depeau is president of the student Law Society at UW-Green Bay. He intends to begin law school next fall, with a long-term goal of remaining active with social justice issues through legal advocacy.

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