Since 2006, MDC has partnered with the President's Volunteer Service Award (http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/) to honor students, faculty, staff, and student organizations who have participated in service.
To see a press release about our 2015 event visit: http://www.mdc.edu/main/news/articles/2015/06/mdcstudents_to_receive_presidents_volunt.aspx
To watch a video of the ceremony visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXcAQ3RblC8

We had Alexander Star close out the ceremony this year, his video can be found at: This is My Era video (short): http://www.thisismyera.com/
For more information, contact Josh Young at

Our district president sent out a college-wide email about PVSA found below:

From: Eduardo Padron <epadron@mdc.edu>
Date: June 30, 2024 at 8:03:21 AM EDT
To: <ccalder1@mdc.edu>
Subject: More Than 800 to Receive President's Award for Outstanding Service
Reply-To: <epadron@mdc.edu>


________________________________________
Office of the President
300 N.E. Second Avenue
Miami, Florida 33132-2297
305-237-3316






Message From the President

Tuesday, June 30, 2024

More Than 800 to Receive President’s Award for Outstanding Service
Eduardo J. Padrón
President
________________________________________
Nearly half a century ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. summed up the mindset of those who help others when he retold the parable of the Good Samaritan. Encountering a robbed traveler left half-dead by the roadside, three people walking by had strong, contrasting reactions. As King noted, “The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But...the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’”

This year at Miami Dade College, more than 800 students, faculty and staff embraced this attitude toward helping others by completing more than 100,000 hours of service. In recognition of their contributions, MDC’s Institute for Civic Engagement and Democracy, with assistance from the Department of Student Life, is hosting the ninth annual President’s Volunteer Service Awards Ceremony Tuesday, June 30 at 6:30 p.m. in Wolfson Campus’ Chapman Conference Center (Room 3210). The award, issued on behalf of U.S. President Barack Obama by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, encourages all Americans to improve their communities through volunteer service and civic participation. Each award winner will receive a letter from President Obama, a certificate and a lapel pin in a ceremony with a keynote speech by Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Setting a record in Florida for largest number of award recipients, Miami Dade College this year will honor a total of 859 students, faculty, staff and groups. The ceremony recognizes individuals who have completed a minimum of 100 service hours in a 12-month period, and clubs and organizations that have completed a minimum of 200 hours. In addition to this commendable service, four outstanding MDC individuals will receive lifetime achievement awards for completing more than 4,000 service hours, including students Patricia Romaniuk and Paula Beatriz Milano, professor Juan José Prieto-Valdes and Britany Ziems, AmeriCorpsVISTA program coordinator.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of the award recipients for their devotion to improving our community. Besides the honorees, gratitude also goes to those offering support behind the scenes, including the more than 300 faculty who engage students in academic service-learning projects each year, and the faculty and staff student-organization advisors who were instrumental in fostering this mindset of service. Acting as modern-day Samaritans, you serve as a model to be emulated.

The ceremony will be broadcast via livestream at http://www.mdc.edu/livestream starting at 6:30 p.m.

Eduardo

That's a phenomenal suggestion! I'm going to pass along the video to our Communications Department to promote!