\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\tBy MARTY LEVINE<\/p>\n
\n\tEditor\u2019s note:\u00a0The University Times is writing a series on the most recent winners of the Chancellor\u2019s Distinguished Service Award for Staff. This is the fifth and final installment.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tStudent Impact Award winner: Carrie Benson, director of sexual violence prevention and education, Office of Institutional Engagement and Wellbeing<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe have worked really hard, all of us, to build a positive community that promotes healing and education,\u201d says Carrie Benson about her work with her colleagues, and about the students they serve. \u201cWe\u2019re OK that healing can be messy, that we can laugh at one time and cry at another, that it is a safe space and people come as they are. We\u2019re going to focus on their healing journey and where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBenson has worked at Pitt for nearly 11 years, the first five in the Title IX office, which does direct response work to allegations of sexual harassment or violence. Her current office, dedicated to preventing those cases, has seen a \u201csignificant scale up,\u201d Benson says, over the last half decade.<\/p>\n
\n\tAmong their efforts has been the training of 25 undergraduate peer educators focused on consent and healthy relationships. Her office designs educational materials and does outreach, including workshops, throughout the year. Her team also employs confidential advocates to support anyone affected by sexual misconduct and partners with Pittsburgh Action Against Rape to connect students to PAAR advocates, who counsel survivors and their support teams.<\/p>\n
\n\tBenson says her office team is \u201calways recognizing that there is more to be done,\u201d although she has been very glad in recent years to find a better atmosphere on campus and to \u201csee students talking more about what a safe and healthy relationship looks like for them,\u201d as well as taking advantage of more of her office\u2019s resources.<\/p>\n
\n\tShe feels \u201creally lucky\u201d to have been recognized by the Chancellor\u2019s Award, she says: \u201cThe fact that it was in the student impact category was very special to me. Our students are why I am here.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThis is very much more than a job to me \u2014 it feels like a second home to me,\u201d she adds, especially as a Pitt alumna. \u201cI\u2019ve watched students who have experienced sexual violence. I\u2019ve watched them heal and sometimes get involved in the work, so what happened to them doesn\u2019t happen to others.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe award is very meaningful but it is also a recognition of all of the work that all of the professional staff does on this floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMarty Levine is a staff writer for the University Times.\u00a0Reach him at martyl@pitt.edu<\/a> or\u00a0412-758-4859.<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHave a story idea or news to share?\u00a0Share<\/a>\u00a0it with the University Times.<\/p>\n