Middlebury celebrates 15th annual Public Service Leadership Awards
May 15, 2008
Sixty Middlebury College students and two student organizations honored for volunteerism
MIDDLEBURY, Vt.—Sixty Middlebury College students and two student organizations were honored for their volunteerism at the 15th annual Public Service Leadership Awards dinner held April 29 at the McCullough Student Center.
The students were nominated by service agencies throughout Addison County, by local individuals, and by their peers. All of the nominees received certificates from Dean of the College Timothy Spears and recognition from the more than 100 students, faculty, staff, and community members in attendance at the dinner.
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| Student nominees and recipients of the College’s Public Service Leadership Awards gathered at the 15th annual dinner in McCullough Student Center. |
From among the nominees, 10 of the most dedicated volunteers were selected for special recognition: seven for Middlebury College Public Service Leadership Awards, one for the John M. McCardell Jr. Award for Public Service, one for the Bonnie McCardell Award for Public Service, and one for the Dana Morosini Reeve ’84 Memorial Public Service Award.
The Public Service Leadership Award Fund will make a $500 donation on behalf of each award recipient to a nonprofit organization designated by the student. In the 15-year history of the program, the fund has donated more than $26,000 to worthy causes on behalf of about 460 public service award recipients.
At the dinner, Dean Spears reminded the honorees about Rosa Parks and said: “When we strive together to try to shape a better world—when each of us can muster the will, the energy, and, if necessary, the courage to act, despite doubts and discouragement—then change will happen. It may be small, but it can grow; it may be local, but it can spread; it may be a long time coming, but it will come.”
The Alliance for Civic Engagement at Middlebury College estimates that more than 1,300 students engaged in community service projects or service-related initiatives during the 2007-2008 academic year. These students gave more than 42,000 hours of service during the academic year—roughly the equivalent of a 20-person workforce engaged in the needs of the community on a full-time, year-round basis. In addition, more than 300 Middlebury College faculty and staff give about 25,000 hours of their volunteer time and effort annually. In the past year, almost $400,000 was raised by Middlebury-led initiatives on behalf of charitable organizations.
The evening’s keynote speaker was Elizabeth Ready, the executive director of the John W. Graham Emergency Shelter in Vergennes, Addison County’s only emergency shelter for homeless people. More than a safe, clean place to spend the night, the shelter provides meals, transportation, counseling, medical care, and other services as it strives to help people to rebuild their lives.
This year’s Dana Morosini Reeve ’84 Memorial Public Service Award went to Elizabeth Hamburger ’08 of Silver Springs, Md., for being a tireless advocate on campus relating to issues of genocide and refugee affairs in Sudan, on the African continent, and around the world.
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| Philip Picotte ’08 received the John M. McCardell Public Service Award from President Emeritus McCardell. |
Philip Picotte ’08 of Albany, N.Y., received the John M. McCardell Jr. Public Service Award for blending his interest in the outdoors with his appreciable technical skills to help meet the needs of the greater Middlebury community, such as mapping the Trail Around Middlebury and the College’s organic garden.
The Bonnie McCardell Public Service Award was presented to Ria Shroff ’09 of Mumbai, India, for implementing new ways for international students at Middlebury to connect with the community both on- and off-campus.
The recipients of the Middlebury College Public Service Leadership Awards were: Rachel Bearman ’08 of Memphis, Tenn., for her extraordinary work on interfaith initiatives, service to Hillel, and devotion to patients at Porter Hospital; David Dolginow ’09 of Leawood, Kan., for his outstanding work in Vermont and Washington on climate change initiatives; and Michael Fletcher ’08 of Katonah, N.Y., for his commitment to the Addison County Farmworker Coalition.
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| Sophomore Shantá Lindo (second from left) was one of the evening’s honorees, flanked by Patrick Durkin ’79 (far left), Dean of the College Timothy Spears, and Tiffany Sargent ’79, director of the Alliance for Civic Engagement. |
Also, Bonnie Hemphill ’08 of Cary, N.C., for her activism on climate change and devotion to the Community Friend program; Austen Levihn-Coon ’08 of Austin, Tex., for his passionate support for on-campus activism, including the Synergy events; Shantá Lindo ’10 of Brooklyn, N.Y., for her leadership in Middlebury College Women of Color and her work with the “Hole in the Wall Gang” camp for terminally ill children; and Prerna Seth ’10 of New Delhi, India, for her advocacy for human rights including work on hunger and homelessness campaigns.
An additional Public Service Leadership Award was conferred upon a student organization rather than an individual for just the second time in the 15-year history of the event. The John W. Graham Emergency Shelter Volunteers were honored for cooking dinner for the shelter’s residents nearly every Wednesday; organizing events such as Thanksgiving Dinner, Parents Night Out, building scarecrows with kids, and delivering baby gifts; providing on-the-spot rides, games, encouragement, and counseling; raising money; and advocating for the shelter at Town Meetings across Addison County.
Patrick Durkin, a 1979 Middlebury graduate, started the College’s public service leadership award program in 1993 and continues to underwrite the program today. In attendance for the 2008 public service event at Middlebury, Durkin is a partner at J Fitzgibbons, a private equity and hedge fund firm located in New York. He is also on the board of directors of CARE, the American Red Cross of New York, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and has demonstrated his devotion to public service all throughout his life.
Thanks to Patrick Durkin, this year’s award recipients designated the following organizations to receive $500 donations: WomenSafe, Addison County Housing Solutions, Association of Africans Living in Vermont, Ilsley Library, Addison County Farmworker Coalition, Green for All, Hole in the Wall Gang, HOPE (formerly known as Addison County Community Action Group), John W. Graham Emergency Shelter, and Raleigh (N.C.) Charter High School.
The call for nominations goes out to the Middlebury community in mid-winter to begin the selection process for the awards. Decisions are based on students’ demonstrated dedication to a cause, level of help toward making a positive change for an individual or for the community, and initiative toward increasing the awareness and involvement of other students in public service. Each nomination is returned to the Middlebury College Alliance for Civic Engagement Office and reviewed by a committee of College students, faculty and staff.
