Student receives national award for animal advocacy

Grand Valley student Lena Spadacene is the recipient of a Student Leadership Award from the Humane Society of the United States in recognition of her work to improve the lives of farm animals.

Spadacene, a native of Midland, worked with Campus Dining to gather thousands of petitions to make Grand Valley Michigan’s first university to exclusively serve cage-free eggs. 

The award recognizes students who have made substantial progress in reducing animal suffering and advancing animal welfare on their campuses in 2010. “We applaud Lena’s efforts to improve animal welfare on campus,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. “Her drive and determination are admirable, and led to a better life for hens who produce eggs for Grand Valley.”

According to the Humane Society of the United States, cage-free hens have up to three times more space to walk and spread their wings than caged hens. In 2009, Michigan became the second U.S. state to pass a law to outlaw cage confinement of hens.

Spadacene is president of The Humane Society of Grand Valley and will graduate this spring with degrees in psychology and biology.