Presidents’ Leadership Awards

While serving in the Air Force Reserves as a medic, Mia Tran ‘21 also had a civilian job as an Intake Specialist at the Manchester Housing and Redevelopment Authority, which is the largest public housing agency and largest landlord in Northern New England. In this role, Mia was exposed to new career possibilities beyond the medical profession.

In May 2019, representatives from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) were performing a site visit to assess several properties managed by the Manchester Housing and Redevelopment Authority (MHRA). During their visit, the HUD personnel noted that several of the elevator systems were out-of-date and suggested that they look into grant funding to make these necessary improvements.

As the Information Systems Coordinator at MHRA, Mia wanted to make a positive impact within the organization and the community it serves, and had even expressed interest in securing federal grant funds in the past. Mia discussed this opportunity with the Housing Operations Director. Her motivation and natural determination were evident and he entrusted her with the mission of pursuing the grant to modernize the elevators.

Her grant proposal was successful and Mia was able to secure $2.3 in funding for MHRA to modernize their elevators.

Kevin Perry is a junior criminal justice major who will begin a career in law enforcement or the military upon graduating. Involved, since his first year at NEC, he currently serves as the President of the Criminal Justice Club (CJC). The work he has done within the CJC includes: bringing a k-9 dog demonstration and police cruiser to campus during Fall Festival Weekend, hosting a “stuff a cruiser” toy drive in December to benefit DCYF, and running numerous fundraisers on campus to raise money. The funds helped bring in presenters to campus, sent CJC members to Rhode Island for the New England Council on Crime & Delinquency, and sent them to NYC to meet with law enforcement and experience ride-alongs. After stumbling on a YouTube video about kids with illnesses, he knew he wanted to help in some way. Kevin reached out and helped develop a partnership to help Dartmouth Children’s Hospital (CHaD) raise money and collect toys to donate to the children they provide care to. He has generated interest from other student organizations on campus to help with these endeavors. Kevin will also be heading up the community-wide egg hunt with the Criminal Justice Club this April, an event he asked to take on with his student organization. Kevin also serves as a member of Student Senate, a member of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, and was a 2020 College Convention Leader. Kevin is constantly thinking outside of the box on ways to help others and to make a bigger impact, always believing “we can do more for people.”

Daniya Schofield ’20, a Biology major at Franklin Pierce University, has been a dedicated and consistent volunteer at Good Shepherd Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jaffrey, New Hampshire since her first semester on campus. She is an ideal volunteer, showing up early for volunteer shifts with a smile on her face and contagious excitement. Her passion and compassion make other volunteers feel welcome and excited to do the work. She has grown into her volunteer role, and become a mentor to others who are transitioning into the program.

Schofield’s support of the Good Shepherd community has made a lasting impact on the residents and other volunteers. The Good Shepherd staff shared, “Daniya has grown in confidence over her years with us. She is outgoing, makes friends with residents, shares her creativity and compassion, and is respectful and fun to be with. Her service and dedication have been inspiring.”

Over the summer months, Schofield also volunteers at rescue shelters in her hometown. Service is an integral part of who she is, and her impact on the Franklin Pierce University community has been profound.

Sydney Kamen ’19 is a remarkable, driven, and capable young woman. Service to others is a thread that runs through her every course selection, every extracurricular club membership, and every moment spent travelling the world for various fellowships, conferences, and cultural immersions. While in high school, Sydney established her own nonprofit, So Others Are Protected (SOAP), which recycles hotel soaps to address global health sanitation needs in developing countries. She has continued to oversee SOAP and watch it grow while at Dartmouth. Sydney received a Truman Scholarship and a David L. Boren Scholarship, expanding her cultural competency and learning Swahili to enhance her effectiveness at making change. Her academic transcript is filled with Social Impact Practicums (SIPs), courses offered that allow students to develop skills and knowledge while also addressing community need. Last year, Sydney was selected as a delegate representing Dartmouth to attend the Matariki Global Citizenship Forum in Durham, England. Currently, Sydney is serving as the Student Director of Communications at the Dartmouth Center for Social Impact working to magnify the stories of her peers about the importance of social impact. Sydney will be building on this already substantial legacy next year as a Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellow, a national fellowship funded by the U.S. Department of State that prepares recent college graduates for careers in the U.S. Foreign Service. She will begin a two-year master's program in public policy, concentrating on humanitarian action, human security, and sub-Saharan Africa and upon completion, will be qualified as a foreign service officer.

Molly Cassidy is an incredible student leader on campus, who has been involved in many service and community initiatives. As a senior, she has spent the entirety of her college experience dedicated to the Plymouth State and broader community. She has had an immeasurable impact on our campus and community through initiatives including the Angel Tree Project, the Give It Forward Program, Blood Drives, Project Linus, and the Bridge House Community Dinners Program. In addition to being the lead facilitator in the previous projects shared, she has also been a coordinator for two Social Action Trips, and a participant on two trips, including the International Service Trip to Jamaica. Being a Trip Coordinator is an unpaid volunteer experience where student leaders have the responsibility to coordinate travel logistics, education and reflection activities, risk management, fundraising, and team development. Academically, Molly won the Sally Bolden Essay contest from the Women's Studies minor, for her research and work on ``Evaluating NH Nonprofits' Service to Women of Color.`` It is impossible to quantify the impact Molly has made during her four years at Plymouth State University. The relationships she's developed with students, faculty, staff, and community partners will outlive her after she graduates this year. She represents the institution in an exceptional manner, and embodies our institutional motto, Ut Prosim, in all she does.

If you are lucky enough to be in the presence of Melissa Markwarth, odds are you are laughing. She brings pure joy and vitality into everything she does. For this reason alone, she is deserving of this award. Her ability to build relationships and community has made her a standout leader and it has touched every part of her undergraduate experience at Southern New Hampshire University. From her leadership position in SNHU Buddies, to her participation in the Alternative Break program, to her multiple roles in The Chandler Center (service learning and service projects coordinator), to all the work she does that goes unrecognized; Mel is the person you want on your team. Her ability to make people feel included, empowered, and successful is unparalleled. An example of this is her commitment to our community partners; she has been the service learning coordinator at the YMCA Teen Center for the past three years because of the strong relationships she has formed with the students there. She is the leader that is consistently doing the work, no questions asked, without the desire for recognition, but rather for the sake of doing work that she is passionate about. This award could not go to a more deserving or humble leader and we are so proud to have had Mel be in our orbit throughout her time at SNHU.

Allison Breen is currently the President of the River Valley Community College Claremont campus nursing club (RVCC I.V. League), a mentor to freshman-level nursing students, and an ambassador for the nursing profession in general. She is a leader among her peers. She has been an integral individual in nursing-related fundraising and community service efforts. Allison has received positive feedback from every clinical rotation, including ancillary sites, and embodies the true spirit of nursing: a caring and dedicated professional who is engaged in her learning experiences, and is always seeking to broaden her theoretical and clinical practice knowledge. Her dedication to her community extends beyond the nursing program. She set up an Instagram where she regularly posts healthy and delicious recipes that can be made from ingredients taken from the RVCC Food Shelves or purchased inexpensively through local grocers.

The Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) of MCPHS University Manchester has had an active year of enhancing student campus experience as well as providing volunteer and financial support to many community organizations. SOTA is a nationally recognized health professions organization that serves to enhance knowledge of the profession through advocacy, education, and community activities. Under the current leadership of student president Hanna Hausler and two faculty advisors, Heidi Robertson, OTD, OTR/L and Angela Butler, MS, OTR/L, SOTA has been involved in multiple events this past year including; The Relay for Life of Greater Concord/Manchester, several events to support the Families in Transition (FIT) program in Manchester, and participation with the Boy Scouts of America Troop in Auburn, New Hampshire. SOTA also has invited guest speakers from the community to provide educational sessions from clinical experts.

The STEM Club at Great Bay Community College has completed an astounding 162.5 hours of community service since September. With nearly half of those hours completed at Gather, GBCC’s community partner for the campus food pantry, the STEM club supports GBCC’s initiative to feed our students success and efforts toward ending local hunger. Led by club President Kayla Kaulback, the STEM club incorporates community service as an integral part of the club’s mission and strives to improve not only the GBCC community, but the seacoast community as well.

Alzahraa Muneer Sabri Al-Haddad has been a student at Hellenic American University for the past two years. Before transferring to the University to pursue a Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering, Zarha studied Mechanical Engineering at the American University of Iraq, Sulaymaniyah. In addition to gaining the expertise needed from several engineering internships in Iraq, Zahra has spent her lifetime acquiring the challenging skills of public speaking and leadership, as well as mastering the art of languages (English, Spanish, Czech, Kurdish, and Greek).

Zahra’s greatest passion in life is spreading knowledge and awareness, especially for the underprivileged members of society. She has been an active volunteer in several NGOs that focus on empowering refugees and IDPs through educational and psychological support. Zahra has worked with organizations such as Red Crescent and Volunteer With Us in Iraq, Social Hackers Academy, Pythea’s Path, and Jafra in Greece.

At Hellenic American University, Zahra has been elected as the President of the Student Council (May 2019-May 2020). She was a part of initiating the Rainbow Alliance Club and the Academic Center for the Enrichment of Students. Finally, Zahra received the President’s Award for Academic Achievement in May 2019 for the Engineering Department.

Raina is the president of the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), captain of the women’s soccer team, and an honors student. Raina is the epitome of a scholar athlete and in her leadership of SAAC she challenges her fellow athletes to contribute to community service efforts on and off campus.

#Ezekiel has lived the Rivier mission of transforming hearts and minds since stepping on campus two years ago. As a freshman, he was a leader in the creation of the first Rivier Education Club. Once the Education Club was created, he was an integral part of setting up many service opportunities and programs for our students. The Education Club built a volunteer program at the local Arlington Street Community Center, where our students volunteer each week within their preschool.
His Sophomore year, Zeke took over the RivPAL mentoring program at Nashua PAL, which provides one on one mentoring to kids attending the after-school program at the downtown PAL location. As a true leader, Ezekiel is familiar with being the first. This year, he was named the first ever Rivier Community Coordinator. His duties involve providing the needed support for the Nashua PAL and Rivier University partnership to thrive. In this role he provides the guidance to his fellow students who are volunteering at Nashua PAL and spreading these opportunities throughout campus. Some of the volunteer opportunities he has created and supported with PAL are joint athletic events, holiday events, tutoring days, and many more. His dedication is unmatched and, when a Rivier student walks into Nashua PAL, they feel a sense of community because of the partnership Ezekiel has built. You can find Zeke on campus sporting his Nashua PAL sweatshirt and our campus cannot wait for what he can accomplish in the next two years in our community.

#NHTI’s Alternative Spring Break program is a student organization that focuses on improving the campus community through civic engagement, fundraising, and volunteerism. Our students have volunteered over their requirement of ten hours each on campus and in our local communities. The club has been able to fundraise almost three-thousand dollars for their trip to Michigan. For the club’s alternative spring break this year, we will be traveling to Manistique, Michigan to help rebuild and repair homes in low-income neighborhoods in the area through Habitat for Humanity.

When they learned that there were over 500 children right in their community, who do not have a bed of their own, needing to sleep on couches, in blankets or on the floor, the MCC Cultural Exchange Club decided to take action. They raised $4500 in funds and new bedding and sponsored the first MCC Build Day on February 20, 2020, working with the local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. During the five hour build, over 100 volunteers from across the MCC community sawed, drilled, and sanded the needed pieces to construct 30 beds. The club is working with SHP to deliver each bed, at no cost, to a local “bedless” child, thus moving one step closer to the SHP motto of “No Child Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town.” The Cultural Exchange Club’s commitment to serving youth in the Manchester area in a tangible, life changing way, makes them an outstanding recipient for the MCC Presidents’ Leadership Award.

#Vanessa Perlera is a gifted and talented student who is very involved with the Nashua Community College campus. She was a work-study student for the Communications and Public Relations Department, while juggling the responsibilities of being a single mom, full time student, and active volunteer with the Admissions office. Vanessa’s enthusiasm and dedication to promoting NCC is inspiring and her love of the campus is palpable.
Throughout the summer and early fall of 2019, Vanessa promoted civic engagement by supporting presidential candidate events on campus by taking excellent photos that were used on social media. She also created TV bulletins notifying students when a candidate was expected to visit.
Vanessa was always quick to volunteer with the Admissions department in its outreach efforts to support underserved communities. She joined Admissions staff at the Nashua Soup Kitchen & Shelter to build rapport with patrons there and with her bilingual and Photoshop skills, she also created Spanish-language flyers and posted them around some of the largely Hispanic neighborhoods of Nashua. Her enthusiasm for bilingual outreach has helped move NCC closer to becoming an Hispanic Serving Institution; something our leadership is very committed to accomplishing.
Now that she has recently accepted a role of enrollment specialist in the Admissions Office, her positivity and dedication to promoting the campus will be used to recruit students and educate the public on the opportunities NCC has to offer. Additionally, her enthusiasm for marketing, communications, and the Admissions department was consistently positive and very welcome.

The White Mountains Community College Student Senate is the recipient of the 2020 Presidents’ Leadership Award. Throughout the last year, Student Senate has enhanced the college experience of their peers by planning fun, engaging activities and events both on and off campus. They’ve provided coffee and snacks for their peers during exam weeks, and given out items such as thumb drives and winter hats. They were instrumental in the creation of a fitness center at the Littleton Academic Center. Most notably, Student Senate provided start-up funds for the new WMCC Free Food Service, an in-house food pantry that will open this spring for students, employees, and community members, and conducted a food drive to collect items to begin stocking the pantry with. Throughout this past year, the many contributions made by Student Senate have had great impact on the WMCC community.

Payton Gullikson’s passion for community runs deep. She has been an outstanding community engagement leader since she arrived on campus in the fall of 2016. As a second semester freshman Payton began her journey with the us as an Office Assistant where she supported the work of the Partnership Coordinators and Service Events Manager with her tireless energy and positive spirit. We quickly discovered that Payton was determined to grow in her capacity to understand and respond to community need. As a first semester sophomore, Payton was asked to help lead the Service Events team. Now in her final semester, Payton has become an integral part of Meelia’s student management team.
Payton’s speedy advancement to Meelia leadership was well deserved. Even though she had been with Meelia for only a semester, she understood what the freshmen Office Assistants (OA) needed from her so they could thrive in their work. She took personal interest in the personal and professional development of the OA’s, and prepared them for their complex work. Freshmen staff are often intimidated by the fast pace of the community work, but in Payton they found nothing but patience, encouragement and support. We found that, in the process of empowering others, Payton gained greater confidence in her own voice. After 25 years of running a wiffleball fundraiser for a international need, Payton and her coordinator advocated to switch to a Dance-a-thon fundraiser. The event was tremendously successful and allowed Meelia to donate over $4,000 to a team of young environmental activists in Puerto Rico. While we will miss Payton next year, she is ready to define her larger impact on the world beyond Saint Anselm.

Rachel and Meriah saw a need for a student-run group on campus to pull together their passions of helping others and getting involved in their community. They have created volunteer opportunities for our campus with the New Hampshire Food Bank and Families in Transition to share their passion with their peers.

They have created a workshop series titled ``Coffee and Culture`` where they select topics focused on identity to facilitate discussions with their peers in collaboration with other student organizations on campus. These events are some of our most attended on campus! They start each workshop with introducing names, pronouns, and a warm up prompt, before opening the discussion and holding the role of neutral facilitators.

In addition to this club, Rachel and Meriah work in the Office of Student Engagement on campus to create events for their peers. Both serve as peer mentors, orientation leaders, and are always willing to volunteer to help others. They will both be greatly missed as they graduate this spring!

Hayden is a leader working to strengthen the community through sustainability, social justice, and intersectionality. Hayden is deeply involved with Alliance, TransUNH, the Student Environmental Action Coalition, and the Diversity Support Coalition. Hayden helped run Gender Identity Awareness week and joined the student facilitator team of Safe Zones educators. Hayden works in both the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and the Women’s & Gender Studies department, through which Hayden is involved in educational programming and events that help the community become more inclusive and welcoming.

Hayden has participated in and coordinated the MLK Summit and the #WontBeErased rally for Transgender rights. Hayden fundraised for students to attend the Translating Identity Conference to further the education of members and gain access to community. They’ve served as a Trip Leader for Campus Recreation Outdoor Adventures, a Community Educator for Clean Water Action, and a Program Director and Unit Leader for Camp Hoffman of Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England.

Currently, Hayden is conducting a policy analysis with the Freedom Café, a local non-profit working to end human trafficking. Hayden is applying concepts from their International Environmental Policies and Politics course to analyze the relationship between human trafficking and the nut agriculture industries. In this way, Hayden blends academic learning with practical application to inform action.

Hayden works hard to ensure that all the initiatives and educational programs they are part of are intersectional and inclusive. Hayden will leave UNH having impacted the community in powerful and lasting ways.

Maddy's four years at Keene State have been marked not only by her own exceptional dedication to serving the community in various ways, but also by the truly superlative drive, leadership, and organization it takes to encourage, and provide opportunities for her classmates to serve the community.

She's the Class of 2020 President and leads by example in working for her community. Maddy is the Vice President of Delta Xi Phi and has led fundraisers for nonprofits including the American Cancer Society, Hope Lodge, and the women and families shelter through Southwestern Community Services. Maddy has been a Leader for Alternative Break trips for three consecutive years facilitating trips on education and equality, AIDS awareness, and sustainable culture.

Maddy taught and worked one-on-one with students at Hinsdale High School for her field placement work in secondary education and her student teaching. Though Hinsdale is one of our more rural sites and has students dealing with issues like poverty and addiction, Maddy sought this placement. Her cooperating teacher raves about her connections with students, and her exceptional leadership and planning.

A peer said of Maddy, ``I first became familiar with Madison Olsen the summer before my freshman year of college here at Keene State. Maddy was an orientation leader and I noticed her right away. Mainly because she was wearing bright yellow crocs. However, I soon noticed that she did not seem afraid to step into any situation and was always willing to help out. As a bright light here at Keene State, Maddy has always been someone I look up to.``