WILMINGTON — Wilmington College senior Megan Canfield is a 2017 recipient of the Charles J. Ping Student Community Service Award for outstanding leadership and contributions to service both on campus and in the community.
Ohio Campus Compact recognized Canfield and other “exceptional” students from across the state for their “tireless dedication to community service.” The award is named in honor of the former Ohio University president who was a tireless advocate for campus-community partnerships.
Canfield is a senior from Wakeman majoring in psychology and political communication for social change with plans to graduate next month.
She has embraced community service since coming to Wilmington College as a freshman and that initial activism led to positions on the Student Leader Executive Board that culminated with her serving as president this year. That role has allowed her to mentor a dozen students in completing monthly service projects.
Other service highlights are her leadership of the annual, campus-wide Quake day of service, representing the College at six lobby trips to Washington, D.C. and a summer internship with the Institute of Philanthropy and Voluntary Service, during which Canfield worked with children living in D.C. homeless shelters.
Also, she served as a student ambassador at the Westheimer Peace Symposium and was the lead student organizer for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
President Jim Reynolds noted how she has been consistently engaged in serving the campus and community during here four years at WC.
“Megan is thoughtful and professional in her approach to working with others and puts service at the forefront of all she does,” Reynolds said. “She embodies a heart of service in all aspects of her life — Megan is a true model of the Wilmington College mission.”
Canfield spoke of initially becoming engaged in service as a result of her mother’s example, but she didn’t “realize how integral it is to my identity” until she came to Wilmington College.
“My time and experiences at Wilmington College have solidified my commitment to living a life dedicated to service and civic engagement,” she said. “I’d like to be able to reflect on the last four years and say I made the College and community a better place, but the truth is they made me a better person.”
