Thirty OLLU students have earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award – almost double the number who earned the award last year. Together the students provided 4,100 volunteer hours to the community.

The President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation was established in 2003 to recognize the contributions volunteers are making in their communities. The Council created the President’s Volunteer Service Award program as a way to honor Americans who inspire others to engage in volunteer service.

The honor is awarded to those who have completed at least 100 hours of service within a year. The award is given at the bronze, silver and gold levels. The bronze medal is awarded to those who complete 100-174 hours, the silver medal is awarded to those who complete at least 175 hours and the gold medal is awarded to those who complete 250 or more hours. Recipients receive a medal, a personalized Certificate of Achievement, a letter from the President of the United States and a letter from the President’s Council.

Gold Medal Winner:

• Ernethia Carter-Abernathy – 549 service hours

Silver Medal Winner:

• Elizabeth Ibarra – 389 service hours

Bronze Medal Winners:

• Roland Aleman – 109 service hours
• Silvia Alvarez – 107 service hours
• Kevin Castaneda – 100.50 service hours
• Grace Chavez – 113.50 service hours
• Tahiry Contreras – 111.75 service hours
• Selina Diaz – 108.75 service hours
• Amy Lopez – 111 service hours
• Chloe Medrano – 100.25 service hours
• Yadira Montalvo – 105.25 service hours

• Ivana Montenegro – 106.75 service hours
• Silvia Nunez-Castorena – 115.25 service hours
• Alyssa Parga – 105.75 service hours
• Nallely Prudencio-Olvera – 100 service hours
• Courtney Purl – 154 service hours
• Cassandra Rodriguez – 135 service hours
• Cesar Rodriguez – 167.25 service hours
• Kimberly Rodriguez – 125 service hours
• Stephanie Rodriguez – 117.50 service hours
• Veronica Rodriguez – 120.25 service hours
• Sara Santiago – 101 service hours
• Guadalupe Sinyard – 110.75 service hours
• Sandra Torres – 129.25 service hours
• Kathleen Traver – 103 service hours
• Amanda D. Valdez – 116.75 service hours
• Valarie Villarreal – 135.75 service hours
• Chloe Wolfe – 107.25 service hours
• Bernice Zamora – 102 service hours
• Maria Zavala – 105.25 service hours

Ernethia Carter-Abernathy, Kimberly Rodriguez, Veronica Rodriguez and Valeria Villarreal are receiving the award for the third time.

Roland Aleman, Grace Chavez, Amy Lopez, Cesar Rodriguez, Sara Santiago and Chloe Wolfe are receiving the award for the second time.

To earn the President’s Volunteer Service Award, a student must complete at least 100 community service hours approved by the Center for Service-Learning and Volunteerism (CSLV) between June 1, 2013 and May 31, 2014.

To get hours tracked by the CSLV, a student must submit a Request for Project Service Approval. Once the project has been approved by the CSLV, they will begin entering hours into the tracking database. The CSLV will track approved projects for all students even if they are not working toward the award.

For more information, contact the CSLV at 210-431-3990 or cslv@ollusa.edu. Its office is located in Worden School, Room 23.