Three UC Students Recognized for Their Volunteer Work

On Thursday, October 6, UC celebrated our students’ service and volunteer accomplishments and social responsibility by participating in the first National Student Day, which was sponsored by the National Association of College Stores (NACS), the national association for college bookstores. The theme was Study, Serve, Celebrate.

Hosted by UC Campus Services, the day included giveaways, live music, and UC Bookstore discounts, as well as the opportunity for students to learn more about service and volunteer opportunities at UC and beyond. Nearly 2,000 students participated in the day’s events. UC was one of 561 universities/colleges participating nationwide. Major campus partners included Student Activities & Leadership Development (SALD), Student Government, the Center for Community Engagement, and UC Sustainability. In addition to the on-campus celebration, UC students had the opportunity to submit their volunteer experiences and participate in a national competition for scholarships and prizes. A total of 275 students submitted their entries and UC students submitted 19 entries – more than any other institution.

On Thursday, November 3, three UC students who finished in the top 10 were recognized for their efforts and presented with iPads, courtesy of NACS, by President Gregory Williams and Steve Sayers, Sr. Associate Vice-President of Campus Services, who is also a trustee on the NACS Board of Trustees. These students are Laura Schlater, Emily Zerhusen, and Erica Broadway.

Laura Schlater is a sophomore from Versailles, Ohio, majoring in international social work and minoring in journalism/photojournalism. Ms. Schlater finished fourth place in the competition for her founding of Mission Photography. Mission Photography is a nonprofit organization where Ms. Schlater uses her passion for photography and provides her services at no charge. Instead of charging, she asks for donations and uses the donations to fund mission/service trips. To date, she has taken and edited an estimated 17,000 photographs and raised $5,000. This past June, she was able to use some of the money and fund what she calls a “life altering” mission trip to Haiti, where she worked in a children’s orphanage.

Emily Zerhusen is a junior nursing student from Cincinnati who finished seventh place in the competition for her mission trip to Jamaica with UC’s Newman Center. Ms. Zerhusen says she was “forever changed” while bringing necessities to impoverished families and serving as a positive role model while helping school children read.

Erica Broadway, a first-year graduate student pursuing her master’s in science in health promotion and education with an emphasis on community health from Toledo, finished 10th place in the competition for her work with the City Gospel Mission. City Gospel Mission is a Cincinnati-based non-profit organization that empowers men and women suffering from addiction, homelessness, and poverty. Ms. Broadway helped train a Mission running group of 150 men and women for Cincinnati’s Flying Pig Marathon. She says she was inspired by the participants’ faith and determination and it was a humbling experience to be part of something that was so life-changing for the participants.

To read the winners' original volunteer story submissions, visit www.nationalstudentday.com.