April 14, 2003
Contact: Adrianne
Tucker
802-443-5629
satucker@middlebury.edu
Posted: April 15, 2003
MIDDLEBURY,
VT - Middelbury College celebrated the 10th annivsersary of its
public service leadership program with community members and more than
30 of its students at the annual recognition ceremony on campus on Monday,
April 14. Of the 33 nominees who received the certificates of merit, six
received the 2003 Public Service Leadership Award. A seventh student received
the Alma Gibbs Donchian Literacy Award.
The seven award-winning students will each choose a nonprofit organization
to receive a $300 donation, to be made by the College on each student’s
behalf. Donations made for 2003 awards will amount to a total of $2,100.
In its 10-year history, approximately $16,700 has been donated by the
College on behalf of its public service award recipients to nonprofit
organizations.
It is estimated that more than half of the College’s students have
been engaged in community service projects or service-related initiatives
this year. More than 500 students are involved in ongoing projects, providing
a minimum of two hours per week for dozens of agencies and individuals,
amounting to more than 28,000 hours of student volunteer effort per academic
year—the equivalent of 14 people working for the needs of the community
full-time, year-round.
Award recipients were junior Christine Gould, of Woodcliff
Lake, N.J., for volunteer services on the College campus, in the local
community through the Page 1 Literacy Project, Helen Porter Healthcare
and Project Independence, and beyond this community as an AmeriCorps volunteer;
junior Josh Harper, of Laguan Niguel, Calif., for his
volunteerism through the Community Friends program, the Page 1 Literacy
Project, and with Addison County Community Action for the Holiday Angels
gift-giving program; senior Adam Sewall, of Orono, Maine,
for his ongoing volunteer service in support of an Addison County community
member with cerebral palsey; junior Darshan Shrestha,
of Katmandu, Nepal, for his service on the Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance
Association; senior Alisa Young, of Concord, Mass., for
her volunteerism with the Open Door Clinic, for her educational outreach
in the community, and her efforts toward the organization of a medical
mission and exchange program in Mexico; and senior Katie Ziemba,
of Springfield, Vt., for volunteer services on the Middlebury College
campus, her public service in the local community through Community Friends
and on the international level at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.
The recipient of the Donchian Literacy Award is senior Angela
Schlucter, of Solon, Ohio, for her volunteer efforts on the Middlebury
College campus, in the local community through the Page 1 Literacy
Project, and for her educational outreach beyond this community in Costa
Rica, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador.
At the dinner, President John McCardell told honorees that the public
service aspect of student life ranks among the most noteworthy of student
achievements. He said, “You join a lengthening line of Middlebury
students embodying the values of volunteer service, a tradition that is
one of the most respected on campus. Through your efforts, the lives of
people throughout the broad community in which we live are improved.”
He also announced that, overcoming financial difficulties that recently
threatened the program, College and community members have been able to
work together to assure that Community Friends will be able to continue
to bring college students and area youth together in mentoring relationships.
Keynote speaker for the dinner was faculty member Jon Isham of the Middlebury
College economics department, who incorporates a service-learning component
into many of his courses, encouraging students to make volunteerism in
the community part of their academic goal. Isham praised the student volunteers
for their efforts, and commented on changing trends of civic engagement
nationwide.
Patrick
Durkin of the Middlebury College class of 1979, traveled from New York to
attend the 10th anniversary ceremony at his alma mater. Durkin, a founding
participant of the College’s public service leadership award program,
has made a significant ongoing contribution toward the spirit of volunteerism
among the school’s student body.
Middlebury College Director of Service Learning and Student Employment
Tiffany Nourse Sargent, also of the Middlebury class of 1979, was commended
during Monday’s award ceremony for her dedication to the College’s
entire volunteer program. Sargent is characterized by her colleagues as
the heart and soul of volunteerism at Middlebury.
Each
year in February or March, the call for nominations goes out to the community
to begin the selection process for the award. Decisions are based upon
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 Middlebury College
students in public service. Each nomination was returned to the College’s
service learning office and reviewed by a committee of College students,
faculty, and staff.
NOTE:
A synopsis of service rendered by each of the award recipients follows,
together with a list of all nominees and the services they provided.
Alma
Gibbs Donchian Award Winner:
Angela Schluchter, class of 2003.
For the past four years, Angela has promoted literacy awareness with dedication
and inspiring originality through direct and indirect service on-campus,
in the wider Addison County community, and in an international setting.
Currently, she serves as the campus co-chair on the Page 1 Leadership
Board. She works tirelessly to organize and participate in Page 1 events,
such as those surrounding Middlebury Literacy Awareness Week, the annual
Halloween Reading Celebration, a Page 1 Fun Run, and the Spring Reading
Carnival. Her ongoing service has included weekly participation in Page
1’s “Reading Rocks” at Mary Hogan. This year, she participated
in a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day performance of the Dr. Seuss story, “The
Sneetches,” for local pre-schoolers and kindergarteners. Angela
has served the Service Roundtable—a group of leaders of the College’s
service-related student organizations—working hard all this year
to promote volunteerism amongst her Middlebury peers. In addition, Angela
has worked on campus as a Volunteer Services board member, and in the
local community through Project Independence. Her service contribution
at an international level includes teaching Spanish in a rural village
in the Dominican Republic and English as a second language in Costa Rica,
as well as working with urban youth in Ecuador for nearly 20 hours each
week during her junior year abroad. Next year, after graduation, Angela
will continue her service efforts as a Peace Corps volunteer in South
America.
Public
Service Leadership Award Winners:
Christine Gould, class of 2004
Christine is an active member of the College’s Volunteer Services
Organization. She has served on the leadership board in several different
capacities. As the community co-chair, she organized weekly worksites,
and, as the special events coordinator, she has planned major events,
including the community breakfast for area elders. She attended the Hunger
and Homelessness Conference at the University of Pennsylvania this past
fall, and has figured significantly in the success of related Volunteer
Services events this year, such as the Thanksgiving Food Drive and Hunger
Clean-Up. Christine has especially expanded her work with elders and taken
a leadership role in our community on their behalf. A part-time AmeriCorps
member, Christine will volunteer 300 hours of service through her project
to area elders this year. Project Independence, the Helen Porter Health
Care and Rehabilitation Center, and the Addison House Community Care Home
have all benefited from Christine’s public service efforts. Her
supervisor at Helen Porter cites her creativity and compassion, commenting
that Christine’s ongoing desire to give the extra bit shows how
much she truly cares about the residents.
Joshua
Harper, class of 2004
Throughout his time here in the past three years, Josh has been a committed
companion and mentor to his young Community Friend. He has shared his
time each week in fun-loving and healthy activities, and has been a thoughtful,
sensitive, hard-working role model. Josh is also a student coordinator
for Community Friends and an integral part of the leadership board. He
interviews prospective mentors, matches them with local children, and
supports other volunteers in the program. In addition, Josh has coordinated
each year of his student career the Holiday Angels gift-giving program
for the Middlebury College community. His efforts mobilize faculty, staff,
and students in what has become a tradition at the College, and an enduring
partnership with the Addison County Community Action Group. Last year,
the program served more than 200 people with contributions exceeding $12,000.
Josh also volunteers weekly at the Addison Central School with the Page
1 Literacy Project, offering one-on-one time with a child who needs reading
assistance and positive adult attention. During February break this year,
Josh traveled to Mexico where he volunteered at an orphanage.
Adam
Sewall, class of 2003
For the past four years, Adam has been friend, mentor and helper to Butch
Varno, a local 53-year-old man with cerebral palsy. Adam has tutored Butch
and helped with some of his physical therapy needs. Adam has assumed a
leadership role in the small team of volunteers who meet Butch’s
more personal needs. He generously gives his own time in direct service
to Butch, and also works to ensure that when he, himself, leaves after
graduation, other volunteers will continue to work with Butch to help
improve the quality of his life. Adam talks with Butch every week, and
visits him often. This year, he helped Butch successfully conclude the
GED process, an incredible challenge that Butch has been working toward
for years. Arranging to be excused from his classes, Adam stayed with
Butch during the entire final examination period. Adam helped him prepare
all morning, and then sat with him through the long four-hour test. Adam’s
commitment to Butch has persevered throughout his college career, through
its ups and downs, and times when a lesser person might have found it
easier to let things go. Instead, Adam stepped in to take on more leadership
and responsibility. He has had a huge impact on Butch’s life.
Darshan
Shrestha, class of 2004
Like many of our students, Darshan leads a busy life at Middlebury, attending
to his studies, working on campus as a student staff member, and participating
fully in commons activities. What is remarkable is that Darshan also has
volunteered a big chunk of his time with the Middlebury Volunteer Ambulance
Association. He spends many hours in service to MVAA, working his own
volunteer shifts with dedication, and also offering extra effort when
the rescue team has been short-handed, filling in whenever needed. He
constantly seeks to expand his knowledge and skills to better serve the
MVAA, and has committed personal resources to improve his effectiveness.
In addition to taking related rescue courses, Darshan purchased a car
and equipped it with a “jump kit” in order to provide rapid,
professional responses to Addison County residents in need. Darshan has
worked to recruit other volunteers for the MVAA, and created a Web site
for the association to highlight its activities, honor its volunteers,
and promote membership. He is a role model for resourcefulness and service
in the Middlebury community, his energy and compassion an inspiration.
Alisa
Young, class of 2003
Since her first year at Middlebury, Alisa has volunteered at the Open
Door Clinic for the local community. As a patient advocate, she helps
people with paperwork, welcomes them to the clinic, and assists the physicians
in any manner that she can, including translating between English and
Spanish for the doctors and patients. She is also involved in Open Door’s
health outreach programs, and organizes the Open Door station at local
health fairs. Through a formal preceptorship last winter term with Porter
Medical’s emergency room, she met several Mexican migrant workers
and, identifying yet another way to be helpful, committed even more of
her time each week to teach them English. In collaboration with several
doctors at Porter Hospital, Alisa is currently setting up a medical mission
to a small rural village in Mexico. She hopes to establish a link between
our two communities to facilitate exchanges of doctors, students, and
other resources. Alisa’s commitment to public health and literacy
is both far-reaching and up close and personal.
Katie
Ziemba, class of 2003
During her four years here, Katie has committed herself to volunteer service
on campus, in our local community, and in international communities. As
a Community Friends mentor, she has given her attention throughout her
entire student career at Middlebury to the same young person, providing
friendship and positive role-modeling with an invaluable continuity. Katie
embodies the spirit of Community Friends. Taking on a leadership role
among her peers, Katie also has worked tirelessly on campus to bring the
attention of community service, particularly Community Friends, to other
students, faculty, and staff. She serves as a student coordinator for
Community Friends, and has shown creativity and resourcefulness in the
ways in which she promotes the program and strives to educate others about
it. Katie has been integral to the creation of the College’s Service
Roundtable, and her persistent work with the organization has helped immeasurably
to get it off the ground. Katie has worked extensively with Volunteer
Services, and has participated for four years in Middlebury’s service-related
orientation component, “Volunteer Preview.” Her volunteerism
has not been confined to a “business as usual” aspect of her
academic year—she also volunteered during one summer at an orphanage
in the Dominican Republic, and later led a group of Middlebury students
back there, on a February break trip, to work at the same orphanage.
NOMINEES
for the Public Service Leadership Awards (including above-mentioned winners):
Michael
T. Csaszar, class of 2003, for his volunteer efforts on behalf
of the Middlebury College Page 1 Literacy Project; his service as a mentor
in the Community Friends program; and his involvement with Middlebury
Youth Hockey
M.
Douglas Dagan, class of 2003, for his dedication to the Snow
Bowl Ski Patrol; his work with Middlebury College’s chapter of Operation
Smile; and his service to the College’s outdoor programs.
Colin
M. Davis, class of 2003, for his volunteer efforts at the Hannaford
Career Center in conjunction with the Foundation for Excellent Schools.
Jessica
L. Della Pepa, class of 2003, for her work with the Girl Scout
Council of Vermont and the Middlebury College Campus Girl Scouts.
Dustin
S. Dolginow, class of 2005, for his work with the Student Government
Association’s Finance Committee and its Comprehensive Fee Committee.
Janet
Fung, and Erica Goodman, both of the class of
2006, for their efforts in support of Middlebury College’s Volunteer
Services.
J.
Reed Gahagan, class of 2004, for his volunteerism in the emergency
room at the Porter Medical Center.
Christine
E. Gould, class of 2004, for her leadership on campus with Volunteer
Services and the Service Roundtable; her work in the local community with
the Page 1 Literacy Project, elderly services at the Helen Porter
Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, and Project Independence; and for
her work beyond this community as an AmericCorps member.
Kaitlin
Gregg, class of 2003, for her dedication to local environmental
causes; her involvement with Spirit in Nature; and her work with the environmental
garden at Middlebury College’s Weybridge House.
Andrea
K. M. Hamre, class of 2005, for her environmental outreach and
her involvement with the Spirit in Nature Earth Day Environmental Fair.
Susan
E. Harnett, class of 2005, for her service to the Parent-Child
Center.
Joshua
A. Harper, class of 2004, for his service as a mentor and coordinator
for Community Friends; his work with the Page 1 Literacy Project; and
his continued efforts with Addison County Community Action toward the
annual Holiday Angels gift-giving program.
Amy
D. Josephson, class of 2005, for her efforts on behalf of the
Page 1 Literacy Project and the College’s Service Roundtable.
Divya
D. Khosla, class of 2006, for her service teaching English as
a second language to local migrant families from Mexico; and her continued
dedication to human rights issues worldwide.
Kathryn
E. MacDonald, class of 2003, for her volunteerism with the
Page 1 Literacy Project; and for her work with school children, teaching
dance at the Ripton elementary school and during the 2002 Clifford Symposium.
Mary
Elizabeth J. Nora, class of 2006, for her volunteer work at the
Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History.
Farhad
Peerani, class of 2005, for his service as a Community Friend
and a mentor at the Bristol elementary school; his science outreach in
local elementary schools; and his volunteer work at the Cross Cancer Institute.
Michael
J. Pepperman, class of 2003, for his volunteer work with the
Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department and the Pennington Fire Department
in Pennington, N.J.
Brian
C. Radley, class of 2003, for his efforts on behalf of the Page
1 Literacy Project, the College’s Service Roundtable and the
Middlebury College Activities Board; and for educational outreach in Costa
Rica and Ecuador.
Ronald
G. Schildge, class of 2003, for his initiatives relating to alternative
fuel and environmental education on campus and in the community.
Angela
L. Schluchter, class of 2003, for her efforts on behalf of the
Page 1 Literacy Project; her leadership on campus through Middlebury
College Volunteer Services and “Volunteer Preview;” and for
her educational outreach in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador.
Adam
B. Sewall, class of 2003, for his ongoing volunteer service in
support of a member of the local community with cerebral palsey.
Darshan
Shrestha, class of 2004, for his work with the Middlebury Volunteer
Ambulance Association.
Anywhere
Sikochi, class of 2005, for his leadership on campus with Volunteer
Services and “Volunteer Preview;” and for his volunteerism
in the local community with the Lions Club.
Dena
N. Simmons, class of 2005, for her service through the Foundation
for Excellent Schools; and her work with diversity education in area schools
through the MIX Club—a cultural outreach student group at Middlebury
which she co-founded.
Tina
M. Velez, class of 2005, for her cultural outreach in area elementary
schools through the MIX Club—for which she is also a founding member.
Eric
G. Vos, class of 2005, for his volunteerism in the local community
as a youth mentor.
Matthew
M. Wolf, class of 2004, for his volunteer service in Lowell,
Massachusetts, with the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater
Lowell, Inc., and the Future Stars Sports and Leadership Development Summer
Camp; and for his volunteerism locally with the Foundation for Excellent
Schools.
Laura
W. Woodward, class of 2003, for her work on campus with the Student
Government Association’s Finance Committee and the SGA Comprehensive
Fee Committee; and for her work as a mentor at the Bridport middle school.
Alisa
J. Young, class of 2004, for her service in the local community
at the Open Door Clinic; for her service teaching English as a second
language to migrant workers from Mexico; and for her efforts working with
local doctors toward organizing a medical mission to Mexico.
Amber
L. Young, class of 2003, for her efforts on behalf of the Page
1 Literacy Project.
Katie
E. Ziemba, class of 2003, for her service as a mentor and coordinator
for Community Friends; her leadership on campus through Volunteer Services,
“Volunteer Preview,” and the Service Roundtable; and for her
volunteerism at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic.