OSU-Tulsa student receives top honors from the OSU Alumni Association

OSU-Tulsa student Amairani Perez Chamu has been named a 2018-19 OSU Outstanding Senior, the highest student honor bestowed by the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association.

Perez Chamu is among 15 students chosen for the award from throughout the OSU System. She is the second OSU-Tulsa student to be selected for the honor.

The Outstanding Seniors award recognizes seniors who excelled through academic achievement, campus and community activities, athletic or extracurricular honors or awards, scholarships and work ethic during their time at OSU.

Perez Chamu, who aspires to break barriers as a Latina filmmaker, will graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in American studies.

As a 5-year-old, she and her family moved to Oklahoma from Acapulco, Mexico to seek a better life.

She is one of nearly 700,000 young adults – typically referred to as Dreamers - who were brought to the U.S. as children and are protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“As a DACA recipient, it has always been very important for me to be vocal about my future in this country and continue fighting for the rights of those who cannot raise their voice,” she said.

Perez Chamu is a member of Dream Act Oklahoma Tulsa as well as OSU-Tulsa’s President's Leadership Society and Hispanic Student Association. She was a featured speaker at the Women’s March on Tulsa last year.

In addition, Perez Chamu has served internships with Canvas Sky Studios in Broken Arrow and the Tulsa American Film Festival.

Perez Chamu will be honored along with other recipients during a public banquet on April 25 at the ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center in Stillwater.