Schools, Civic Engagement, Student Affairs revamp awards

The Community Service Awards, distributed annually to students who go above and beyond in serving the local community, will undergo a radical change in procedure this year.

Since the 1990s, awards had been offered jointly through the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, represented by JEP; Student Affairs, represented by the USC Volunteer Center; and USC Civic Engagement at an annual dinner. Now, Dornsife, the Marshall School of Business, the Gould School of Law, the Viterbi School of Engineering and other schools and departments plant to take part in the annual Community Service Banquet on April 16 at Town and Gown.

The awards will be distributed among various departments and schools to reflect their increased involvement in the past two decades.

Director of Non-Profit Partnerships at the Joint Educational Project Office Jacqueline Whitley said that, although the numbers are not finalized, as many as eight to 15 different schools are expected to take part in this year’s awards ceremony, each with one designated winner.

The idea for change came last year when Civic Engagement host its own event.

“When it looked like the office of Civic Engagement was going to break off from how we were doing the awards previously, we saw that as an opportunity to invite schools and academic units from across the campus and make this more of a unified event,” Whitley said.

Whitley said the new system will better unite students from different schools within the university as it will give them a chance to coalesce in a centralized location for one evening.

“There are so many awesome things being done all around campus and sometimes it’s kind of decentralized,” Whitley said. “But, let’s see how many people we can get in one place to highlight the great work that both community members and students are doing.”

Associate Dean of Students and Director of USC Volunteer Center Judi Garbuio, who aided in brainstorming the new changes, echoed Whitley’s sentiments.

“It’s great networking,” Garbuio said. “It provides more of an avenue for students to learn about what other students are doing and it’s a great vehicle for deans to promote what the students are doing within their academic units. It’s a win-win every way around.”

Although the criteria have not changed for preexisting awards, this year’s dinner will include four new categories of awards: the Extraordinary Engagement Award, Multiple Engagements Award, Innovations in Service Learning Award and Advocacy and Activism Award. Each school in attendance will focus on one category of its choosing and pick a single winner based on that category.

Pre-existing awards, such as the Grace Ford Salvatori Scholarship and Desiree Benson Award, will still be awarded based on the same qualifications, though they will not be presented at this year’s dinner.

Whitley acknowledges that the changes might be risky, given that this is the first year they will be implemented.

“We’re still in the process of seeking out the changes before the [dinner],” Whitley said. “We’re still figuring it out.”

Whitely said, however, that the changes are necessary to the continuing development of USC students.

“A great takeaway is seeing what an important role the local community plays with academics at the university and really seeing the wide breadth of different things that are happening on campus with the community,” Whitely said. “Hopefully, students will be inspired to come up with new and great ideas to deepen their learning as well as help the community.”

Alan Raouf, a senior majoring in policy, planning and development who volunteers as a youth basketball coach, was enthusiastic about the new developments.

“Each major puts their focus on different aspects of society. By doing this, every different angle of the community will be supported,” Raouf said. “Not everyone has the opportunity and privilege to come to USC. It’s important to give back the knowledge and experience we gain here to the community.”

Garbuio hopes these changes will motivate students of all majors to realize the importance of community service.

“By giving up your time and talent, you think that you are helping other people, but really, you end up gaining more from the experience than you give,” Garbuio said.