2015 senior service awards

SERVICE AWARDS FRIDAY, MAY 15 TH , 2015

ð

ð At the end of each year, the Service Program recognizes exceptional service. We had so many amazing nominees that we increased the number of awards this year to recognize eleven seniors in their individual work, one senior in her service with a work crew, as well as one outstanding staff and one faculty.

Warren Wilson College Service Awards Celebration th May 15 , 2015 Host & MC Lyric Farmer, Bonner Leaders Service Crew Welcome Cathy Kramer, Dean of Service Bonner Leaders Service Crew Presenting the: Staff Award William Pioquinto Faculty Award Misha PĂŠrez Work Crew Award Emily Odgers Undergraduate Awards Sabrina Maria Chmelir Senior Awards Tayla Clark, Patrick Downing, Emily Fox, Austin Fust, Melvis Madrigal, Stephanie Menjivar, Jada Sheeler, Sam Stone, Jasmine Woo, Brian Wuertz Closing Remarks Steve Solnick, President

BK Segall Presented by William Pioquinto Ladies and gentlemen, today I am honored to be presenting the Thomas Crumpler Staff Award for Leadership in Service. This award is named after Mr. Crumpler who spent over 20 years as a volunteer for the college working with carpentry and church relations. He was always a tireless supporter and advocate for student service from leading break trips to leading by his example. And we are delighted to have his wife here with us today as a special guest. I would like to introduce Pat Crumpler. Thank you. It is in his honor that we recognize a staff member with outstanding contributions to service.

"Some people talk to animals. Not many listen though. That's the problem.” ― A.A. Milne author of Winnie-­‐the-­‐Pooh.

It is apparent to me that BK Segall is one who listens. Since her time at Warren Wilson College, BK has done outstanding service. Two years ago she was the faculty member for the Pine Ridge Break Trip and even though this wasn’t a specific animal welfare trip, BK saw the impacts that the community faced with un-­‐neutered abandoned dogs and jumped at the opportunity to help those without voices. She, along with others, found a litter of pups and their mom living underneath a porch.

Seeing how these pups were starved and in poor health, BK took them in and fed them. She then adopted each and every one, brought them home by air and in a car, nursed them back to health, and found them good and loving homes. She’s also been on several insulate trips bringing awareness to the importance of home weatherization and every year, with her crew, she volunteers at Animal Haven of Asheville. As stated by many of her crew members, they arrive ready on work day to their lair in the library; BK having already made breakfast and as excited as a Mentos in a Coke bottle ready to burst. When they arrive Animal Haven, I was told, she has many animal companions ready to run up and greet her; one of them being Clyde the goose. A fun memory someone shared is that this year, “Clyde ran up to BK in excitement and wrapped his neck around her.” I believe it’s true that indeed you can judge a person’s true character by the way they treat their fellow animal companions. If that’s the standard, then I’m not only honored to personally be delivering this award to a well-­‐spoken and true character of the Warren Wilson Community, but to an individual whom I hope to call friend for a long time.

Jen Mozolic Presented by Misha Pérez Our next award is the Andrew Summers Faculty Award for Leadership in Service.

Andy served as the Minister to Students from 1991 until his untimely death in 2008.

He used service as a way to enhance learning in his courses, providing a positive focus on the power of love and laughter to change the world. It is in Andrew Summers memory that we award this year’s faculty award for leadership in service to Jen Mozolic.

Jen Mozolic is one of those names on campus that you just know. Actually, when I was first told that I was doing a speech about Jen, I thought "Oh good, at least I know her." I quickly remembered that I had no idea who she was, what she looked like, what she did at Wilson, or why she was receiving the Andrew Summers Faculty Award. And so my journey began.

The first thing I did was hop on the Warren Wilson facebook to find out what she looks like. That's her over there by the way (in case you missed that). According to the facebook, she’s a psychology professor with an office in Jensen 106 (PO Box 6204). I wanted to ask one of her students (who also happens to work in the service program office) to explain what type of teacher she was. I was told: "Jen's a hard-­‐ass, but she really keeps you engaged. If you put in the work and stay engaged in her classes, you're going to learn a lot and have a great time doing it.

To find out why she deserves this award, I decided to ask around the office. It turns out, Jen has been teaching a service-­‐learning biopsychology class that partners with Hind's Feet Farm, an organization dedicated to serving persons living with brain injury, for several years. Every semester, Jen and the director come up with a specific, engaging project for the class and the Hind's Feet Farm members to share together, ensuring lasting connections. Throughout her class Jen makes sure that the students and the members engage with each other on a higher level allowing them to bond in a way that would otherwise be impossible. If that wasn't enough, I also found out that Jen will be taking a sabbatical next semester and is continuing to stay engaged with the Asheville community by collaborating with the Asheville City Schools Foundation to evaluate a school-­‐based mentoring program.

I want to end with a quote from the nomination letter written for Jen as I think it summarizes Jen's contribution to the community better than I ever could. It says, "[my experience in Jen's class with Hind's Feet Farm] was not 'service', it was 'working with and learning from each other.'" And those are exactly the types of engaging relationships we try to build at the Service Program. Congratulations.

Katrina Hoven, Work Crew Award Presented by Emily Odgers “I don’t really know how many hours I have, but that’s not why I’m here. I’m not in it for the hours.” This sentiment is pure gold in terms of what we like to hear at the Service Program Office; this statement also happened to be expressed to me

by Katrina Hoven, this year’s recipient of the Work-­‐Crew Service Award on behalf of the Spanish Crew. By utilizing her time in the Work Program, Katrina has become a key part in the continued success of the Common Ground Project; an initiative that provides engaging ESL classes to adults while simultaneously offering free childcare.

“Responsibility, intellectual maturity... a life saver... these are just a few of the words I heard when asking people about Katrina. A hard working, incredibly intelligent, and reliable individual, Katrina’s time at work has been committed to forging community relationships and service learning opportunities.

Sherrie Mahowald, the coordinator and founder of Common Ground described Katrina’s impact in the program: “Katrina has embraced teaching the very beginners,” Cherrie remarked. “She is providing the highest-­‐quality ESL instruction-­‐-­‐keeping students engaged, interacting and learning the entire class time. I am absolutely certain that Katrina’s teaching, enthusiasm and caring have kept these beginners coming back. In fact, they are the best attenders!

Katrina’s role on the Spanish Work Crew has also led to the expansion of meaningful service-­‐learning opportunities for Warren Wilson students. Christine Swoap of the Spanish Department described Katrina’s involvement as “invaluable.” She stated “Katrina is thoughtful and reflective, and her insights help me to tailor the class and activities so that we can constantly improve.”

Though we are sad to see her go, Katrina already has exciting opportunities on her horizon to further her growth and engagement with community issues. I wish her luck on her journeys, as she continues to marvel the world as a teacher, leader, and friend.

Melvis Madrigal, Service and Peace Award Presented by Sabrina Chmelir

The Service and Peace scholarship was established in 1998 by Mrs. Jean Bennett.

Mrs. Bennett was a long-­‐time friend of the College and member of the Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church. She taught in the Asheville City Schools for more than 20 years and enjoyed interacting with Warren Wilson students during her lifetime. It honors and supports students active in service and peace activities who are preparing for careers in service-­‐related areas.

Melvis, a member of the Service Program Crew, has engaged significantly with the wider community, taking on leadership of MANOS, a Latino youth mentoring program with Children First/Communities in Schools. He plans the curriculum and leads a group of student mentors at the site each week. He was integral in planning the campus visit of journalist and immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas. Melvis engaged the MANOS participants and their families by arranging transportation to the lecture and making sure the event was accessible to all.

In the spring, Melvis co-­‐led a service Break Trip to Georgia focusing on immigration issues. He and his co-­‐leader coordinated education and service activities and facilitated reflection creating a space to explore the complexities and frustrations of immigration policy in the US. To lighten the mood, he also led the group in several dance parties where participants became relatively proficient in salsa, cumbia and the merengue!

In addition, Melvis has spent summers as an interpreter with Mountain Area Health Education Center providing translation for Spanish speaking patients at the clinics and gaining experience for a career in medicine.

Out of his personal lived experience, Melvis engages in authentic ways and you can see his connection with the youth that interact with him. His commitment emerges from a place deep within himself and I am certain that the impact of his work will be unfolding in the lives of youth and families for years to come.

Ben Algeroy & Kyle Crowder Presented by Emily Fox It is a pleasure to introduce the first service awards presented as a collaborative pair.

Kyle Crowder and Ben Algeroy have worked together with the Warren Wilson Food Not Bombs chapter since their freshman year, and have co-­‐led for the last 3 years.

Food Not Bombs is a national organization that provides free meals for the community with food that would otherwise be sent to a landfill.

I was touched to find out that Kyle and Ben nominated each other for this award. In his nomination Ben said that he was “proud of Kyle for being such a huge part of an amazing student run trip that has such a legacy.” Kyle, in his nomination of Ben, stated that he “could not imagine another person with whom [he] would want to work.”

They have done an amazing job growing the movement together. As someone who organizes occasional Saturday service trips, I can attest to the struggle of recruiting students for Saturday service. Food Not Bombs required Ben and Kyle to spend most of every Saturday for the last four years picking up food from grocery stores, cooking the food, and taking it downtown. In addition, they worked to continue the sustainability of Food Not Bombs, even advising students from UNC Asheville about starting their own chapter. Ben took his food security interest on the road and explored urban agriculture on a break trip to NYC as a freshman.

Both Kyle and Ben are creatively driven. Kyle is an accomplished potter and worked on Blacksmithing crew. According to his crew boss, Kyle is “a joy to have around.”

Some of Kyle’s service is art related. In addition, Kyle just received a two-­‐year pottery apprenticeship. Ben’s involvement with music includes being in a band, and his experience on Bike Crew probably will carry over into his endeavor to start a bike messenger service in Asheville.

Kyle was noted as being flexible and able to jump in when something needs done, and Ben was described to me as a quiet organizer of what his adviser Amy Knisley calls “DIY community.” These qualities made them a great pair for Food Not Bombs.

“Dedicated” was a word that came up with almost everyone I talked to about Ben and Kyle, and they both deeply care about the individuals around them. Their work with Food Not Bombs demonstrates their focus on the connection between environmental protection and social justice. I know that their passion and dedication will continue to make the world a better place in all their future endeavors.

Christina Brown Presented by Sam Stone It’s my honor to introduce Christina Brown, a student who has dedicated much of her time at Warren Wilson towards addressing issues of housing and homelessness. She immersed herself in this issue during her time on Rentals and Renovations and created service opportunities where her crew partnered with Asheville’s Habitat for Humanity. Her supervisor, Paul Bobbitt, says “Christina is a great listener, has strong communication skills and excellent follow-­‐through skills.”

Christina also did a summer internship with Habitat. Stephanie Wallace, the Volunteer Coordinator for Habitat wrote in her evaluation that “Christina showed amazing initiation during her time with us. She was always on time, never called in or worked at less than her max capacity. I feel like in the short 8 weeks, she gave 110% every day!”

Additionally, Christina integrated service into her academics as a Global Studies major. For example, David Abernathy, her advisor, told me that Christina applied her knowledge from her classes by helping Habitat identify good places to build houses based on her knowledge of the region.

Christina continued to demonstrate leadership by taking a group of students to Detroit in the Fall 2014. She organized this trip by making networks in the Detroit area, arranging opportunities to do service, and by coordinating logistics.

Lia Kaz who went on the break trip describes Christina as being “a collaborative decision maker that incorporates voices of the whole group without getting weighed down by the process.”

I’m amazed by your ability to weave service all across the triad and also by your commitment to service past graduation. Christina will be continuing on with Habitat as a construction leader for the organization.

Congratulations on being the recipient of this award.

Claire Doemland Presented by Tayla Clark If we are fortunate in life, we will meet someone whose brilliance illuminates our lives and continues to inspire us long after we have parted ways. There are some here at Warren Wilson who have been this fortunate, and those are the people who have been able to meet and connect with Claire Doemland.

Her advisor, Mallory McDuff, believes that Claire’s “gift to the world is that she has chosen to share her intellectual aptitude with others through the field of education.” During her time here, Claire completed her service primarily with youth. She worked with the Kids on Campus program for two consecutive years.

Also, she interned with an organization called the Breakthrough Collaborative, which works with underserved high school students in order to increase academic opportunities for them and help them build a path towards a college education. Annie Jonas taught Claire in three different Service Learning Courses, and she says that she will remember Claire “for her commitment to learning and her innate drive to make her teaching meaningful and engaging.”

I spoke with several people in order to prepare this speech, and each and every one of them had so much to say about Claire. It was obvious to me that Claire has made a lasting impact on the people around her with her intelligence, her passion, her friendly and engaging personality, and her ability to positively influence the lives of others. Claire’s advisor stated that, “To say Claire is bright is an understatement.” Her service and academic achievements will continue as she will be moving on to study at the graduate school of Education at Harvard, a fact that her work supervisor Andrew Pulsifer says proves just how brilliant Claire is, because, as he mentions, Harvard does not accept just anyone.

Deanna Dragan Presented by Austin Fust I’m honored to present a service award to a senior who has lit the path for myself and many other students to follow in her footsteps. Though it might actually be easier to write a full-­‐length novel about her commitment to community engagement, I’ll try to condense the tremendous work of Deanna Dragan into this short speech.

Deanna is the perfect example of how to successfully embody the triad, the Warren Wilson way, by creating mutually beneficial relationships between academics, work and service. She has been a fearless leader in the Service and Bonner High Impact programs, conquered the psychology program, and guided countless students through meaningful community engagement opportunities in her work time. Deanna’s academic advisor, Bob Swoap, sang her praise in saying “I have not encountered a more motivated and engaged campus leader. She inspires others – not in a loud, ‘look at me as your leader’ way – but in a way in which she quietly demonstrates how to be (and stay) fully engaged with one’s goals.”

As a pioneer in the field of health-­‐related service, Deanna has run blood drives and bone marrow collection events and has spent countless hours at Black Mountain Neuro-­‐Medical Treatment Center. By singing to residents, leading trips for student engagement, and facilitating issues workshops about dementia and the power of music on the aging brain, she has made service appealing and productive, in the words of Volunteer Coordinator Brenda Ross. Along with her community-­‐based research on caregivers, she has intrinsically tied her service to her career path in Gerontology, a field to which she will bring positive change.

Though I’ve only scratched the surface, I hope you see Deanna’s profound positive impact that is surely only beginning. I’m am honored to have been able to shadow Deanna in our overlapping time here, and I promise (as your “not-­‐ related-­‐to-­‐you” legacy, as we joke) I will do my best to fill your big, giant Warren Wilson shoes. Congratulations, Deanna!

Lia Kaz Presented by Melvis Madrigal Lia is someone with a very deep passion, commitment, and belief in the concepts of equality and justice. She not only wants to identify and confront all forms of oppression, but after becoming aware of an issue she immediately wants to jump in and take full action. Her service truly embodies what she believes in, because when Lia says that she stands up for something, she certainly stands, and is even described as a “mover and shaker” by those around her. She often takes initiative and is capable of converting broad scale discussions into direct actions, a trait best demonstrated through her efforts to lead and organize a school trip to Ferguson, Missouri after traveling there with Professor Rima Vesely-­‐Flad in support of the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

Lia also has the ability to draw connections and relate her service back into the community. "Showing Up: With White Identity for Racial Justice," is a student group on campus that she cofounded and lead for white-­‐identifying individuals to engage in racial justice work. The group is an example of her self-­‐reflective attitude, one that often leads her to frequently assess her character and recognize opportunities for growth. Lia is also incredibly courageous, driven, and pertinacious, to the point that even after she has fulfilled all of her initial commitments she remains engaged with the community. Such qualities can be perceived through the development of her Bonner internship with Cooper Riis into what later became a part-­‐time job during college.

Additionally, Lia is also capable of thriving within various and distinct levels of service; she often works directly with people, local community partners, and national movements. Her social work internship with Spirit in Action, an organization largely based on the promotion of democratic engagement, consisted of researching ways to reduce the voter barriers within North Carolina.

Through her service as a Big Sister in Burton Street’s mentoring program, she not only inspired the youth but also encouraged other Wilson students to engage with the program, and brought the program to a much deeper commitment.

Obviously, service is not simply service for her, but rather a way of life.

Felicidades Lia, ¡Te mereces esto y aun más!

Ana Lara Presented by Jasmine Woo I don’t remember how I first met the next recipient. One word to describe her is radical: to favor drastic political, economic, or social reforms. However, she is also great at creating safe spaces where people can participate in dialogue.

At Warren Wilson, Ana Lara has had a positive impact on many people. Kathryn Burleson, her advisor says, “She is a miracle made up of particles.” Another advisor, Siti Kusujiarti says, she is “Amazing with people across generations, cultures, and different walks of life.” Her friends say, “...her best work comes out of anger, fire, which inspires her to organize hugely successful events that have long lasting effects.” For example, working with the Latino community in Asheville around farmer worker’s rights and organizing activist events on campus.

Her engagement in the community is expansive from the local, Warren Wilson and Asheville community to the national and global level. She has been a student leader with WHOLA and Engage. She co-­‐facilitated an issue workshop at Shiloh Community Garden and trained to be a Rape Crisis advocate for Our Voice.

Nationally, she participated in the Black Lives Matter Movement, going to Ferguson, MO to engage herself in the conversation and brought it back to campus. Last summer, she interned in Brazil for an organization called Foundation of Research and Support for the State of Amapa.

To end, I will share a quote from Ana’s blog of her time in Brazil, “Before my hands get to work, my heart & mind need to be in understanding of the work needing to be done. I am allowing nature and time to show me how it is that my hands, body & spirit can be of help to the communities around me.”

Congratulations, Ana!

Julia Lehr Speech Presented by Jada Sheeler Today I am here to talk about an amazing young woman who has truly taken her Triad experience to a whole new level. She has been described by her peers and mentors as a tireless worker, a natural leader, and a dedicated friend. I am talking, of course, about none other than the extraordinary Julia Lehr.

Whether she is leading a service trip, presenting her research, or climbing a mountain, Julia brings her endless passion and unrelenting drive to everything that she does. Her exemplary service career began in her freshman year while she explored a wide variety of volunteering opportunities from working in community gardens to exploring topics of health. Then in her sophomore year Julia went on a service trip to the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. This experience ignited her passion for intercultural service and understanding. Upon her return she changed her academic focus to an Integrative Studies major focusing on intercultural service learning. Every course required for her major was chosen to strengthen her leadership and service skills. Where courses didn’t exist, she developed independent studies to explore service learning philosophies and reflection techniques. She served a summer long internship with the non-­‐profit Conscious Alliance, and began to plan her own break trip to lead students to Pine Ridge who otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity.

This massive break trip took countless hours of planning, training, and preparing. Yet, no matter how many hurdles and challenges stood in her way, Julia faced them with her signature grace and patience. Earlier this year Julia took yet another step above and beyond when she took an amazing journey studying abroad in Mexico to further expand her cultural competency and service skills.

I wish that I could go into more detail about Julia’s service accomplishments, her diligent work ethic, or the way that she seems to light up every room that she walks into, but if you’ve met Julia, you know that I have only touched the tip of the massive iceberg of her accomplishments at Wilson. On behalf of the entire Service Program Office, congratulations, we could not be more proud of you!

De’Andrea Lottier Presented by Patrick Downing The thing that stands out to me about De’Andrea Lottier is her considerate nature and her sense of humor. With these two facets in mind it is also important to note that D, as Candace Taylor explains, “is a force to be reckoned with.”

In her time at Warren Wilson D took Service-­‐Learning classes, mentored youth weekly with MANOS and Burton St. Community Center, and organized an issue area workshop to the Shiloh Community Garden. D does direct service AND reflection. She reflects critically with her volunteers connecting service to systems in society.

D reflects in the Buncombe County community and on campus. D’s professor Melissa Blair explains, “De’Andrea works to make her fellow students aware of the impact of their words and gets them to think more critically.” D connects her classroom learning to service. Reflecting on her service with Hind’s Feet Farm, D states: "My experience (with HFF) has reinforced the importance of engaging in the world with curiosity, boldness, and a positive presence."

One of her mentors on campus, Lorrie Jayne, says D is “fearless” “telling the truth about how things are” and what should be changed. One of her good friends, Ana, adds that D does not only speak the truth but goes out of her way to make sure all students are advocated for, whether on the service site, facilitating discussions, or through opening her home.

De’Andrea sees the world both as it is and how it could be, she understands the struggle and the joy in the struggle. De’Andrea, your award...

Peter Simmons Presented by Stephanie Menjivar Peter Simmons has been described as hardworking, humble, capable, humorous, and relaxed. Peter has engaged and been dedicated to service during his time at Wilson across the triad. He took a Service-­‐Learning course in Plant Physiology.

He served with the Forestry Crew to maintain ecosystems. He led a break trip to Detroit focusing on urban gardening and interned with a community garden.

This range of service has shown an understanding of what service means in education and life.

Though Peter has spent a tremendous amount of time working with issues of environment and food security, the most impactful service he describes in his Extended Service Project, was as a Big Brother with Kids on Campus. Over the three years with the same "little", he watched him grow into a more patient and thoughtful leader. A quote from Peter himself, “It is entirely likely that my participation in Kids on Campus helped me to do better in the other aspects of my life, and I don’t think that it’s too much of a stretch to suggest that it helped me get through school."

While studying abroad in Indonesia, he worked with a group not only to collect data underwater on coral reef health, but to interview the people on how conservation efforts affected their lives. The professor of this class, as well as Peter's advisor, was Paul Bartels. "One thing I appreciate about Peter is that he stays positive. He never sees work as a hardship or as negative. He sees the silver lining. And it's not fake! In a group setting, like in Indonesia, his positive attitude was infectious."

We thank Peter Simmons for contributing so much not only to the Triad, but to the community beyond Warren Wilson College.

Tykara “T.K.” Young Presented by Brian Wuertz Everyone who I have asked about T.K. has done the same thing. Before they answer my question they stop and smile. These smiles are just some of the immeasurable aspects of the lasting impact T.K. has had on our community throughout her time at Wilson. Each and every person I asked about T.K. said some of the same things up front. Both her current supervisor, Maura Davis, and her previous supervisor, Pat Tuttle, emphasized her focus and professionalism in her work at the Verner Learning Center, which is a head start program for preschool children. Her fellow teacher at Verner, Katie Hoerman, describes it by saying, “ I instantly feel a sense of relief when T.K. comes in to the room-­‐she is like my right hand.” When something goes wrong in the classroom T.K reminds her that, “at least it was only spoons.” Here are a couple of quotes from the children at the Verner Learning Center: "Ms. T.K. gonna be my best friend" and “Miss T.K. does cool stuff.”

T.K. grew up here in the Swannanoa Valley. In her extended service project T.K. wrote, “I cared about working within the community that raised me.” T.K. has played an active role in advocating for social justice in our community through racial justice work and Spirit and Action, a listening project in which social work students interviewed community members to identify needs. She went from being a little sister in the Big Brother Big Sister program to mentoring two little sisters during her time at Warren Wilson. T.K.'s advisor and social work professor Becki Hornung says that T.K. is a “teacher in her soul.”

T.K. makes such a strong teacher because she is willing to ask the hard questions.

Her teachers say that T.K. challenges them to think more deeply about the field of social work in general. Her professors and supervisors are excited to see how T.K. is going to make lasting change in a social work profession. T.K.'s profound commitment to social justice combined with the teacher in her soul makes her a powerful force to reckon with.