Olivia Plunkett, of Starksboro, is a Making a Difference Scholar at Clark University

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Olivia Plunkett is a Making A Difference Scholar at Clark University

WORCESTER, MA (11/06/2013)(readMedia)-- Olivia M. Plunkett, of Starksboro, Vt., enrolled at Clark University this fall as a Making a Difference Scholar, one of five entering students to be awarded this Clark scholarship for outstanding commitment to and leadership in community service activities.

In high school, Plunkett pursued her interest in the art of sustainable farming. She interned at a local farm, contributing her labor in many aspects and helping create sustainable practices.

Plunkett traveled to Ghana four different times (with family or school) to participate in a range of service projects. On the final, self-initiated trip, she worked with Ghanaian teenagers to understand different meanings of happiness. The experience was incorporated into her senior honors thesis.

Plunkett's other activities include working with a non-profit to organize art and discussion projects about personal and global identity for elementary students, as well as volunteering with an art program for developmentally delayed adults.

Plunkett's sister is a Clark alumna, and her sister's friend was a MAD Scholar at Clark. Besides their encouragement, Plunkett says, "The manageable size, wonderful community, fifth-year [accelerated master's] education program, and liberal arts curriculum is what drew me to Clark and ultimately pushed me towards committing."

Plunkett is a 2013 graduate of South Burlington High School.

The Making a Difference Scholarship is a four-year scholarship which includes a taxable stipend and housing allowance to support an optional summer project that students may undertake in Worcester during the summer following their sophomore or junior year.

Clark University has a long-standing commitment to making significant contributions to the solution of societal problems. Faculty members conduct research and influence policies that improve social and economic conditions of people all over the world. A large percentage of Clark students help better the lives of hundreds of local residents through their involvement in a wide variety of service projects.

Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a small, liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark's pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark's faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to complex challenges in the natural sciences, psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University's motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.