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WCU to host statewide student conference on community involvement

Western Carolina University is hosting a statewide conference designed to help students enhance their community involvement at a time when student civic engagement at the institution has reached a significant level, said Glenn Bowen, director of service learning. Last year, WCU students provided 53,000 hours of service to the community through course-based and co-curricular volunteer projects.

On Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7, about 180 participants from nearly 30 colleges and universities will gather at Western Carolina University for the 17th annual North Carolina Campus Compact Student Conference. N.C. Campus Compact is a coalition of colleges and universities collaborating to increase campuswide participation in community and public service across the state, and the annual conference is designed to help students learn about best practices and innovative ideas in civic engagement.

“Western Carolina is a perfect host for this conference, as the university continues to be a leader of community engagement in the region,” said Lisa Keyne, executive director of North Carolina Campus Compact. Last year, WCU was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with distinction.

Preceding the conference is a canned food drive, which began on conference participants’ campuses in October. A blanket-making service project will be hosted at WCU on Friday, Nov. 6. Other events at the 2009 conference, themed “Color Outside the Lines,” include a brief opening address offered by WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo, workshops, presentations and roundtable discussions. A workshop for civic engagement administrators will feature a panel discussion about “Canton Connections,” a WCU initiative to assist the Haywood County town with post-disaster revitalization projects.

In addition, the Community Impact Student Awards will be presented at the conference. Each campus compact member institution selects one recipient of the community impact student award in recognition of outstanding service. The honoree from WCU will be Shawna Hipps, a WCU senior history major from Raleigh.

“Shawna is both passionate and compassionate,” said Bowen. “Her volunteer work, focusing on cancer survivors and bringing attention to the plight of child soldiers in Uganda, reflects a deep understanding of what it means to be a caring, active citizen of the world. She is an exemplary student-leader, a dedicated volunteer and a positive role model for her peers.”

Since her first year at WCU, Hipps has participated in the Student Leadership Institute and in various student organizations and community service projects. In Alpha Phi Omega, the national co-ed service fraternity, she is currently the president, having previously served as vice president of fellowship and vice president of service. Through APO she has assisted with various service-learning initiatives, including the Invisible Children Campaign that raised campuswide awareness of the atrocities being committed against children in Uganda, where many are forced to fight as soldiers.

She also participated in the Campus Kitchen Garden Project and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

Hipps was selected recently as WCU’s Relay For Life event chair for 2010 after serving as a volunteer since 2006 and helping to raise $25,000 for the American Cancer Society in 2009.

“As a volunteer student leader, she has not only increased giving to the American Cancer Society but has also supported the organization’s effort to increase relay participation and expand awareness of cancer’s impact on the campus and surrounding community,” said Lisa Duff, senior community manager for the American Cancer Society’s South Atlantic division. “Due to her direct involvement, several cooperative efforts have been established on campus, including those with the School of Nursing, Wellness Center and the Athletics Department.”

Hipps was a recipient of the Center for Service Learning’s Shining Star Award for 2009 and Omicron Delta Kappa’s Award for Service.

“I have discovered that regardless of what is going on in my life, there is always time to help others,” Hipps said.

For more information, visit the 2009 conference Web site, or contact Glenn Bowen, director of the WCU Center for Service Learning, at (828) 227-7184 or gbowen@email.wcu.

© 2009 Western Carolina University.