Clinton School student Shamim Okolloh has been named one of 50 semifinalists for the Students In Service awards, recognizing outstanding college students whose volunteer service positively impacts society and inspires others to serve.
You can show your support for Shamim by participating in the online voting for the award. Click here to vote for her. Below is a press release about Shamim’s candidacy:
Bellingham, WA/Little Rock, Arkansas – February 15, 2011 – Washington Campus Compact and Inspireum today announced 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. Shamim Okolloh from the University of Arkansas, Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Arkansas has been selected as a semifinalist for her work supporting girls’ education at Kaimosi high school in Kenya.
Shamim graduated from Kaimosi, an all-girls high school in a low income, rural town in Kenya, where the cost of a year’s tuition was $850, and the average family income was $1600. Shamim wanted to help other young women graduate from Kaimosi, so she organized the first-ever high school reunion in order build an alumnae network and provide financial support through scholarships, teacher awards and mentoring. In this area where there is extreme poverty and gender-based barriers to education, alumnae support is uncommon and met with skepticism due to widespread corruption in the country. Shamim wrote, “The students, staff, and teachers at Kaimosi have for the first time received support from people they know well—former students of the school. The benefits of this project are that students now have “big sisters” and mentors; teachers are recognized for their wonderful work and alumnae have a network of support among themselves.”
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 through March 3rd, 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 at www.serviceawards.org. 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, CA, 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.”
About Washington Campus Compact
Established in 1992 and hosted at Western Washington University, Washington Campus Compact and its membership of 41 two- and four-year colleges and universities are committed to providing meaningful experiences for students to become active, engaged leaders in their communities, furthering the civic and public purposes of higher education and strengthening communities. Washington Campus Compact is an affiliate state office of Campus Compact, a national organization comprised of more than 1,100 higher education institutions committed to the civic and public purposes of higher education.About Insperium
Inspireum provides a comprehensive technology and media platform that helps organizations recognize and reward inspirational young people in America. Inspireum utilizes proprietary platform technology, hosted services and social media to create a comprehensive nomination, voting and donation platform that powers inspirational youth awards, scholarships and fund raising programs. In addition to the Students in Service Awards™, Inspireum in partnership with Trusted Sports, Inc. manages the High School Football Rudy Awards™ honoring athletes who have overcome tremendous obstacles to not only find success on the field, but also serve as an inspiration to others. This scholarship awards program looks beyond traditional athletic performance measures to reward team-oriented values and inspirational impact that help youth succeed throughout life.
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