Janae Due named UW-Green Bay’s December 2016 Outstanding Student

Montello, Wis. native recognized during Fall Commencement Ceremony

The December 2016 recipient of the Outstanding Student Award presented by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Alumni Association is Janae Due, from Montello, Wis. She accepted the award December 16 at a student award ceremony on campus. Due is receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree with a 3.81 grade point average and magna cum laude, or great distinction, having completed a major in English and a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies.

The Alumni Association, which has been designating a single Outstanding Student Award Recipient for each graduating class since 1976, recognized Due for her undergraduate student success, her campus leadership and her volunteer service to others and the community. She was nominated and selected from all graduating seniors eligible to receive diplomas at December commencement.

Due completed her college coursework at UW-Green Bay in just three and a half years. During that time, she was named to the Dean’s List six times, three of those times receiving highest honors.  She was also a two-time nominee for the University Leadership Award, and is a Fall 2016 recipient of a Chancellor’s Medallion, presented to graduating seniors who have contributed significant and sustained leadership while maintaining evidence of academic quality, demonstrated meaningful campus and/or community involvement and showed potential for future achievement and a commitment to personal growth.

As a writer, Due has impacted her area of study through her writings. She has been published several times in the Sheepshead Review, the University’s journal of the arts and literature, compiled each semester by students. Her published stories include a poem about the day she visited her father in prison and the day her mother kicked her father out of the house.

At UW-Green Bay, Due has also been actively involved as a student, a leader and a member of the community at large. Her academic and pre-professional experiences include a Women’s and Gender Studies internship, studying abroad in South Africa and a thought-provoking independent study. When offered coursework was not exactly what Due was looking for, she took the initiative to create independent study courses: a mixed race identity literature class and a black feminist theory course.

Due has maximized her opportunities as a student leader on campus, serving on the planning committee for the American Multicultural Student Leadership Conference when the national conference was hosted by UW-Green Bay. She also served as secretary for the Black Student Union, Vice President of Women of Color, and President of Feminists 4 Action. In addition, Due openly and willingly speaks about her campus experience as a multicultural woman, serving as a panelist and a JumpStart mentor.

She is no stranger to the Greater Green Bay community, organizing a female hygiene product drive for a local homeless shelter and volunteering to raise awareness about domestic violence. While at UW-Green Bay, Due worked on campus as a Phone-A-Thon caller during alumni fundraising campaigns and provided administrative assistance while working at the American Intercultural Center.

When asked, Due noted one of the most important things she’s learned at UW-Green Bay: “to be uncomfortable is to learn.”