Last modified: Tuesday, October 22, 2002
IU student wins volunteer fellowship award
Indiana University Bloomington student Natalia Galvan has been awarded a $2,000 fellowship grant from Indiana Campus Compact to help support the Volunteer Students Bureau. Galvan is president of the bureau, which works to facilitate student involvement in the Bloomington community.
Galvan, a senior majoring in psychology, received one of five Student Citizen Fellowships awarded to students enrolled in Indiana Campus Compact member colleges and universities. Established in 1993, Indiana Campus Compact is a consortium of 30 colleges and universities across the state that supports the integration of community service into campus culture. Indiana University is one of the organization's six charter members.
The Student Citizen Fellowships are designed to support students who are involved in public works in identifying problems they want to address and leading others in forming solutions.
For over 30 years, the Volunteer Students Bureau, an entirely student-run organization, has linked student resources with community needs. The bureau, which has an office in the Student Activities Tower at the Indiana Memorial Union, coordinates numerous volunteer activities during the academic year and connects students with nonprofit agencies in the Bloomington community.
"We found Natalia's efforts with the Volunteer Students Bureau to be so wonderful, because the widespread work she's doing helps get many other students involved in the community," said Keri Hunter, assistant director for student development at Indiana Campus Contact. "We were attracted by her willingness to reach out to her peers to find ways to help the community."
In her application, Galvan said she planned to use the grant to create informational packets to distribute during campus "Welcome Week" and orientation, design publicity material for upcoming events, send out mailings to students, help cover the organization's room rental fee, and purchase an inexpensive office camera.
"Natalia is an incredible student leader who has worked so hard to make the Volunteer Students Bureau a tremendous resource for students looking to get involved with the community," said Darrell Ann Stone, IU associate director of student activities and the bureau's adviser. "She's a terrific collaborator and the perfect person to receive this award."
Toward the close of their fellowship year, student citizen fellows will be asked to write reflective essays on their experiences, which will be published on the Indiana Campus Compact Web site at https://www.indianacampuscompact.org
