One hundred ninety-two students and 33 service-related programs/organizations were recognized at the 20th annual Elrod Center University Community Service Awards Banquet on Tuesday, April 11 at 5:30 p.m. in Ouachita’s Walker Conference Center.
In response to a university mandate to celebrate service on campus, the banquet was organized by the Elrod Center in 1997 as a way to highlight the many ways Ouachita and its students serve the community.
“The awards banquet helps spotlight students who have served with distinction during the course of an academic year,” said Ian Cosh, vice president for community and international engagement. “The evening is one of celebration and encouragement to those who, in a self-sacrificing and creative way, attempt to meet the needs of others and invest in their lives.”
Accomplishments by Elrod Center service programs and those coordinated by other organizations on campus are all featured at the banquet, which also serves as an educational opportunity for Ouachita’s service community by making others aware of who is serving, how they are serving and to what degree. While the event does showcase individual and group achievements, Cosh stresses that it does so modestly, and that the students do not serve for the recognition.
“I think it’s important as Christians to remember the old notion, ‘don’t let the right hand know what the left hand is doing.’ So, we recognize that some service needs to be hidden, but we also don’t want to dilute the impact that these students have made,” Cosh said. “If we fail to tell their stories, then others won’t want to get involved.”
In addition to being honored at the banquet, volunteer students often receive positive feedback from parents in the local community, who appreciate that their child has been tutored and encouraged to succeed academically, or from senior citizens whose day has been brightened because an energetic and loving college student has spent time visiting with them.
“It is really quite inspiring to see all the individuals that volunteer and to hear about all the different ways they have impacted the lives of others,” said Judy Duvall, Elrod Center assistant director and coordinator of ElderServe. “I think when students see the work that’s going on with their peers, it helps them to see that they’re part of a larger picture of service, and that they’re not alone in what they’re doing.”
Serving others is not only one of Ouachita’s core values, but also a command from Christ. Through this banquet, Cosh, Duvall and the Elrod Center will continue to celebrate our culture of service for years to come.
“We take time to honor the graduating seniors who have given so much of their time in service during their college years. The gratification for us and them is found in looking back and seeing all the work that’s been done at the center, and seeing it come to completion,” Duvall said. “Our hope is that this life of service they cultivated at Ouachita will continue long after they graduate and that years from now they will still be making service a way of life.”
By: Evan Wheatley, Features editor
