Four Seton Hall students received awards for their service ventures at a ceremony held on April 3 at Bethany Hall.
The recipients included: law student Michael Antzoulis, senior biology major Lari Hernandez-Perez, junior biochemistry major Josephine McCartney, and junior mathematical finance and economics major Jason Santos. Each student was nominated for the award by a University staff member who recognized the student’s outstanding role within their service.
The Servant Leader Scholar program—a program that McCartney participates in—is all about improvement as a servant leader through conversation with speakers and emphasis on the University’s mission of service. To be a part of the Servant Leader Scholar program, there is a service requirement of 20-hours of service per semester.
In her contributions, McCartney provides service through the DOVE: Don Bosco English Second Language program to those whose first language is Spanish. “We started trying to build a program of English classes with some curriculum,” she said. “It has been a very rewarding experience.”
Antzoulis works at the Center for Social Justice at Seton Hall Law, providing pro-bono service to people seeking asylum and those facing deportation. In his induction video, he said that “bringing dignity back to the clients” is a really important aspect of the work that the clinic does.
Hernandez-Perez has performed some of her service outside of the borders of the United States, such as taking a mission trip to El Salvador and translating for those who did not speak Spanish. She also worked at a soup kitchen translating for non-English speakers.
Santos’ project is multifaceted as it doubled as both his Interdisciplinary Team Project within the Buccino Leadership Institute, and provided service to the Seton Hall community. His service opportunity— Pirate’s Closet—stems from what Santos experienced as a student in need of professional attire. “I realized that this is a problem that many students face and so I pitched the idea,” Santos said, “And I was able to start it.”.
Many students find the work that they do with the program rewarding and integral to their college experience. Another Student Leader Scholar, junior Jocelyn Duallo, said “The various service projects I was involved with in high school allowed me to enter this program as a freshman.”
Duallo, a business administration and mathematical finance major, said she has been an active member of various DOVE and other off-campus service projects.
Meredith Mutter can be reached at meredith.mutter@student.shu.edu.
