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Home > Featured Stories > International Connections > February 2008 > University Lauded for Service InitiativesUniversity Lauded for Service Initiatives
Service is a way to give people hope, joy, love, and friendship when they need it the most, because although they may glow on the outside, they may be struggling on the inside.
NC State junior Jessica Gil
NC State students have a long history of serving others on a local and international level.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC BLOG | PHOTO GALLERIES
By Dave Pond, Web Communication
NC State University has received presidential recognition for extraordinary contributions to community service.
"NC State has a long history of engaging students in the community," said Mike Giancola, director of the Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service. "To be recognized as an institution with distinction for the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll was quite an honor and an achievement for the university."
In early February, the Corporation for National and Community Service recognized the university based on a series of selection factors, including the innovativeness of NC State service projects as well as the overall percentage of students participating in service activities on and around campus.
"College students are tackling the toughest problems in America, demonstrating their compassion, commitment, and creativity by serving as mentors, tutors, health workers, and even engineers," said Liz Seale, chief operating officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service. "They represent a renewed spirit of civic engagement fostered by outstanding leadership on caring campuses."
Giancola received word about the award as he and other faculty and student leaders were putting the final touches on plans for NC State's annual alternative service break trips. This year, while a number of college students across the country recharge and relax on the beaches of South Florida, participants in the ASB spring program will serve in 14 different locations, including the Dominican Republic.
"We have a long history of engagement in the Dominican Republic, and we'll really have a chance to go and interact with a variety of people in the community," Giancola said. "Our students have great opportunity to attend NC State, and we want to make sure that through this program, they understand the great responsibility that goes with that and the opportunity they have to make a difference in communities around the world."
Working alongside NC State staff members and a number of community partners, three teams of students will help jump-start a medical clinic, build a home with Habitat for Humanity and teach English while spending a week in the Dominican Republic.
"I look at serving as a way to give back, and I enjoy giving when I am able," NC State junior Jessica Gil said. "It is very rewarding, but not just that - it's a learning experience as well.
"Service is a way to give people hope, joy, love, and friendship when they need it the most, because although they may glow on the outside, they may be struggling on the inside," she said. "So, even if you only make an impact for one minute, that one minute could have changed someone's life."
The trip roster also includes a team of campus communicators planning to document the group's efforts through video, photography and reporting. Additionally, the team hopes to post student blogs from the Dominican Republic during the trip. Blog posts will be available here throughout the week as Internet access in the Dominican allows.
"We're hoping our efforts will highlight some of the remarkable service and leadership opportunities NC State provides, and that the stories we help share will inspire others to pursue similar experiences," said Tim Jones, director of web communication, who is among those traveling to the Dominican Republic.
The Alternative Service Break program (ASB) began in 1999, and allows volunteers the chance to work in local, national and international communities across the globe. The program's efforts are far-reaching - this spring break alone, other ASB teams will travel to Mexico, Ecuador, Italy, Belize and Guatemala in addition to American locales such as Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Louisiana, Alaska, New Mexico and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
"Our team members want to serve on a variety of social justice issues - education, poverty, social justice, environment," Giancola said. "They really want to sharpen their leadership skills and work with our community partners to address complex issues in communities throughout the world."
