Help our student win a national award! Vote til March 4.
02/22/2011
Edmonds College student Kristine Deleon is a semifinalist running for a national Students in Service Award. The winners will receive a $5,000 scholarship as well as a grant for their school ($2,500 for Edmonds College's Center for Service-Learning and $2,500 for the college's Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School).
Kristine Deleon has been selected as a semifinalist for her environmental stewardship work with the LEAF School. Deleon leads several initiatives with the Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School, which provides opportunities for students to apply traditional ecological knowledge and modern science to help solve contemporary problems.
Through the LEAF School, Kristine has partnered with tribes, governments, non-profits and businesses to make the community more sustainable through wildlife tracking, habitat restoration and environmental stewardship.
She writes, “Through the L.E.A.F. School, I have found fulfillment in helping others while continuing to educate myself and others about how to be better stewards to our community and our environment.”
Watch the video Kristine Deleon created to find out more about service-learning at Edmonds College and see what she's been doing:
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Washington Campus Compact and Inspireum announced today (Feb. 15) the top 50 semifinalists for the Students In Service Awards, recognizing outstanding college students whose volunteer service positively impacts society and inspires others to serve. The Students In Service Awards (SISA) program engages the broader community to support students, community organizations, and colleges and universities that cultivate student leadership through service.
Since December, hundreds of college and university students across the country have shared their inspirational service learning stories, videos and photos through the online application process at www.serviceawards.org.
The students are addressing a myriad of community challenges locally and abroad from literacy in Mali to homelessness in Connecticut to organic gardening in Washington. The top 50 inspirational semifinalists were selected by a combination of fan votes and the Washington Campus Compact staff.
"We are so inspired by the passion and dedication for the community that these students have shown through their amazing service learning projects. Collectively, they have contributed an incredible amount of time, effort, knowledge and leadership to strengthen communities around the world," said Jennifer Dorr, executive director of Washington Campus Compact.
"The students are also sharing the personal impact that their service work has had on their life direction, and many are reorienting themselves into social and environmental careers and vocations as a result of their service experience.”
Voting Still Open
Students, educators, family members, and other community members are invited to show support by voting for their favorite student and service project at www.serviceawards.org through March 3, 2011. A national selection committee of esteemed civic leaders will select the winner and runner-up.
The committee includes Dr. Rick Battistoni, Professor of Political Science and Public and Community Service Studies at Providence College, Dr. Andrew Furco, Associate Vice President for Public Engagement and Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Policy and Administration at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Kerri Heffernan, Director of Faculty Engagement at the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University, and Dr. Gail Robinson, Director of Service-Learning at the American Association for Community Colleges.
The “fan favorite” will be determined purely by supporter vote. Scholarship recipients and their service projects will be recognized at the 14th Annual Continuums of Service Conference, a nationally recognized service and civic engagement conference in San Diego on April 28, 2011.
Scholarships and grants totaling $25,000 will be awarded to three category benefactors. The winner will receive a $5,000 academic scholarship, and a runner-up and “fan favorite” will each receive a $2,500 scholarship. In addition, the service-learning centers at the university of each student will receive a $2,500 grant to support civic engagement programs. Additionally, $2,500 grants will be awarded to the nonprofit organizations sponsoring the winning service projects for the purpose of supporting their vital community programs.
"We hope these stories, images and videos are shared at dinner tables across the country, and enlighten students of all ages about the transformational power of service - both for the student, and for those they serve,” said Tom Lindeman, President of Inspireum LLC. “Our program applicants have shown us how service can teach valuable lifelong leadership, problem solving and empathy skills. Through these awards, we hope to motivate more college students to engage in service as an opportunity to build character and positively impact social and environmental challenges around the world.”
Find out more
Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School at Edmonds CC