CCV-Rutland Student and Coordinator Receive Vermont Campus Compact Awards

Awards Recognize Learning through Civic Engagement and Partnership

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Vermont Campus Compact Award winners Dillon Broderick and Pamela O’Connor with CCV President Judy (center)

MONTPELIER, VT (04/19/2011)(readMedia)-- Community College of Vermont (CCV) staff member Pamela O'Connor, and CCV student Dillon Broderick, were recognized for significant contributions to service learning at the 8th Annual Vermont Campus Compact Statewide Awards ceremony on April 7, 2011.

Broderick, a student at CCV-Rutland, received the Commitment to Service and Engagement Award, which honors students whose involvement in service learning has been an integral part of their academic life. He is pursuing an associate's degree in Environmental Studies. As a service-learning component for "The Natural History of Vermont" course, CCV students were asked to create an interpretive nature trail for the Pittsford Trails Committee. Broderick contributed many extra hours to the project, working with the committee to choose appropriate locations for interpretive signs along a 1.5 mile stretch of trail, and creating an information box at the trailhead to hold the descriptive guide.

Pamela O'Connor, coordinator of academic services at CCV-Rutland, received the Campus Leadership for Civic Engagement Award. This award recognizes leadership in advancing public engagement as a critical part of higher education, and honors individuals who serve as stewards for service learning, community service, and civic engagement at their institution.

A long time member of CCV's Civic Engagement Committee, O'Connor meets regularly with community partners to discuss ways to implement service learning based on identified community needs. She helps faculty connect service learning projects to course learning objectives, even in the most unconventional classes (one pairing incorporated support for a local blood drive and research of ailing bat populations as components for a "Vampires in Literature, Culture, and Film" class).

"Her enthusiasm for service learning shines and inspires students and instructors to become involved in their community," Pamela P. Monder, a CCV instructor and learning center coordinator, wrote in a nominating letter for O'Connor. "This connection to others, for me, is one of the greatest assets a community college graduate can take to the workforce."

For more information on Vermont Campus Compact visit http://www.vtcampuscompact.org/.