2015 Recipients

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2015 Student Employee Award Recipient

Kathleen Clare Costello – is a junior from Cheshire, CT, majoring in Kinesiology. Since 2013 she has worked for the Department of Housing and Residential Life as a Resident Advisor in Browning Hall, a residence hall for first-year students at URI. Kathleen is also involved with URI Emergency Medical Services, the Best Buddies program, and is a member of the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Team. In her position as a Resident Advisor, Kathleen has responsibility for creating and maintaining a comfortable, respectful, inclusive living environment that fosters academic, social, and personal development and success for students navigating their first year of college, and for many, their first time away from home and family. She needs to be an approachable and available mentor, and must be aware of, and familiar with, the resources available to students who need them, including Health Services, the Counseling Center, and the Academic Enhancement Center. Kathleen welcomes every student interaction that her job brings and loves using her knowledge and experience being a leader and role model for other students. She makes a point of getting to know each student she advises individually and strives to create a community where they know their success is a priority. Kathleen has also become comfortable helping students cope with what, for some, can be an extremely traumatic and bumpy road through the first year of college life, and has been called upon to assist students in the most difficult of situations. She takes seriously the task of talking with a distressed student until he or she feels less alone, and is able to find a solution to what might have seemed an insurmountable problem. Kathleen feels that her own experiences in college have given her the patience, maturity, and understanding to put herself in the shoes of others and help them realize their abilities and potential. She exemplifies the ideal of a growing, caring, successful young adult who has learned to make the most of the opportunities and challenges that college and life can bring.

 

2015 Robert L. Carothers Servant Leadership Award Recipients

Monica Niebrzydowski  is a senior Kinesiology major from Naugatuck, CT. She has been active in Habitat for Humanity since her arrival at URI and has since held both the President and Vice President positions. She has attended 3 Alternative Spring Break trips, co-leading one trip this past March to Charleston, SC. In addition, she served as a Human Services Civic Engagement Leader and Service Intern. In her spare time, she works as a Classroom Media Assistant in the URI Library and as a Cardiac Rehab Intern at the Miriam Hospital center for Cardiac Fitness. Monica demonstrates the characteristics of a Servant Leader everyday through her compassionate and graceful approach to living. She prefers to lead by example to empower and inspire her peers. One of her references stated that she “never before witnessed someone with such an undeniable ability to motivate a group of young people to do great things.” Often called ‘Momica’ by fellow peers, she creates a safe and welcoming environment for students to serve, learn, grow, and lead. A deserving nominee, another reference states “her subtle but effective leadership skills have motivated her fellow students to achieve significant goals that have made them ambassadors for URI. Through her dedication to Habitat, through her inspiration to her peers, and through her service to the URI and South County community, Monica represents true, servant, leadership.”

William Henry Law III – A senior Biological Sciences & Spanish double major, with a 3.98 GPA, Bill is a highly driven and passionate student who pushes himself and others to learn more about the world and to take action to help those in need. Bill has led the URI Students Actively Volunteering & Engaging in Service for 8 semesters and has attended 4 Alternative Spring Break trips, co-leading 2 of them while helping to train new leaders. He also completed 2 part-time AmeriCorps terms of service totally over 1250 hours of service in two years (only 750 were required for his terms). In his spare time, Bill serves as an EMT, Driver, Field Training Officer, and Corpsman for URI’s Emergency Medical Services and the Charlestown community. Bill sees his servant leadership as “undercover leadership” that is just “the right thing to do.” His passion for service started early when he enrolled in a Grand Challenge Course for pre-health students on Global Health and has continued throughout his time at URI. His recommenders state that he is a rare student with an insatiable desire to learn, achieve, and make a lasting difference in the world. Bill is a “catalyst and leader,” “the total package,” and “his charisma draws the attention of all around him, and his personal ethics and his passion for service to others sustain their support and loyalty.” Overall, Bill has the ability to see the humanity in every situation and cares deeply about helping others.

 

2015 Student Leadership Award Recipient

Sarah R. Moffitt is a senior majoring in both Global and Environmental Health Studies and Sociology from Wakefield, RI. She has a 3.76 GPA and has earned a place on the Dean’s List every semester. Sarah has worked at the Information and Scheduling Office in the Memorial Union since January, 2012. During the summer of 2014 she worked as a Lab Research Assistant in the URI Department of Vector-Borne Disease, and has also worked as a Student Involvement Intern in the Student Event Advising Office, and as an Orientation Leader and Team Leader with the Office of New Student Programs. Sarah’s other involvements have included serving as chairperson of the URI’s largest student organization, the Student Entertainment Committee, for two years, as vice president of the URI Dance Company, and as a vice president and founding member of Kappa Delta Sorority. Additionally, Sarah was a student mentor for URI 101 and a teaching assistant in the URI Honors Program. As an intern in the Student Event Advising Office, she created a website and marketing materials that provide all URI students with a single source of information about contacting, joining and becoming involved with over 100 student groups and organizations. Sarah credits her supervisors and mentors for helping her develop as a leader and role model, for providing her with “invaluable lessons on leadership, work ethic, compassion, and determination” and, through her many involvements she hopes to pass along all that she has learned to fellow students. Motivated by care and concern for others, Sarah feels most effective in her leadership roles when she puts herself in the place of those she is trying to help, whether it involves solving a logistical problem or reaching a personal goal. One of Sarah’s references states, “She has proven herself to have the intellectual creativity, passion, and purpose to progress any organization or cause. It has been rewarding to work with a student who is focused on her education…while applying her knowledge to help make URI a more inclusive and rewarding college community. URI has certainly benefited from her presence.”

 

2015 Team Excellence Award Recipients

(SOLC) – The Student Organization Leadership Consultants is made up of 40 students who are responsible for serving student groups on campus by organizing leadership retreats to help student groups reach their goals. This tightly knit and close group of students are able to work together in order to facilitate and organize events using their knowledge in leadership theories and group development theories. Through this experience, each member gains friends and peer mentors who are able to guide them through their own personal and leadership development, along with a great support system that motivates, inspires and consoles one another. Motivated by the opportunity to spend time with one another and help make a difference for others, the members of SOLC use their own desire to better themselves and those around them in order to improve our campus community and help different student organizations realize their potential. Said one recommender, “I couldn’t thank SOLC more for how they helped me feel and how we as a group became closer.”

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