Civic Engagement Award Winners
The Honors Program inaugurated two Civic Engagement Awards last year and we are pleased and excited to announce this year’s winners.
Ruitong Zhou, Winner of the Career Achievement Award
The Career Achievement Award recognizes graduating seniors who, over the course of their tenure at SU, made a significant contribution to our community, both local and global.
Ruitong has participated in many activities including volunteering at Fowler High School as a teaching assistant, serving as a tutor and mentor at the Slutzker Center for International Services, and helping to prepare international student orientation sessions.
Most recently she has worked with Hiscock Legal Aid Society. HLAS provides free legal assistance to individuals in domestic violence situations, provides representation in immigration matters, and helps non-custodial parents solve legal issues. As a communication intern, Ruitong conducting interviews and will create a series of promotional videos. These videos may encourage the powerless to come forward and seek help from HLAS.
Her work has been recognized by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs where she will earn a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) and she has been selected as an Imagining America Engagement Scholar.
Congratulations, Ruitong
Robert Swanda, Winner of the Annual Civic Engagement Award
The Annual Award award recognizes outstanding civic engagement during one calendar year.
Robert has been a mentor in the smART program for the past 3 years. smART, an after-school initiative for elementary and middle school youth, seeks to create opportunities for students to engage in hands-on learning and explore their talents beyond the drawing and painting components of traditional school arts curricula, all while working with a Syracuse University mentor. Projects consist of photography & creative writing, sculpture, and material arts. Robert started mentoring in his freshman year and has continued on ever since.
Robert is adaptive and is able to work in every environment you put him in. His fall schedule only allowed him to mentor in the Real Girls smART program. The Real Girls program focuses on building confidence and self-esteem through art. Robert was the only guy mentoring in an all-girls program and it worked out great. The girls were comfortable with him being there and looked to him for advice.
Robert gets up and makes things happen. In the fall he proposed a new program called “Empathy Matters”. He and two other students did research on why youth are losing the ability to truly be empathetic and show feelings. The group then planned a program with second graders teaching them what empathy is in eight weekly lessons. The lessons included mediation, puppy therapy, and how to work with babies. Empathy Matters is now an official program of the Office of Engagement and it is because of Robert’s hard work and dedication.
Ruitong and Robert’s work demonstrate what each of us can do to change the world in simple and profound ways.
Watch for announcements in February if you would like to apply for one of our civic engagement awards.