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| Amanda Kmetz received the Commitment to Service Award. |
Oakland University students Amanda Kmetz and Annie Stodola were recognized for outstanding commitment to community service and civic activities on Saturday, April 10, in a ceremony at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.
Kmetz received the Commitment to Service Award and Stodola received the Heart and Soul Award from Michigan Campus Compact (MCC), a coalition of college and university presidents dedicated to building civic engagement into campus life.
Kmetz and Stodola were selected from among 900 nominated students statewide. A total of 192 students from 34 campuses in Michigan received awards.
Kmetz, who is studying elementary education, was one of only 34 students in Michigan to receive the Commitment to Service Award.
“I have always been interested in volunteering. I started off young working with my church, and whatever functions we did there,” she said. Continuing with involvement in the National Honor Society and Key Club in high school, Kmetz has remained dedicated to community service while at OU.
Kmetz participates in Circle K International, Alpha Phi Omega and the university’s Community Service Council. She has volunteered at Grace Centers of Hope, Baldwin Center, Gleaners Community Food Bank, Beyond Basics, Eco Grove Camp, Hawkins Nature Center, Habitat for Humanity, Greening of Detroit, Relay for Life and Oakland University Center for Autism Research, Education and Support (OUCARES).
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| Annie Stodola was awarded the Heart and Soul Award for her efforts. |
“I feel pretty awesome about the award," Kmetz said. “I live my life to be flexible around service projects and each of my different clubs. I don’t know many people who can say that their lives focus around serving others.”
Stodola can relate. A journalism major, she received the Heart and Soul Award in recognition of her time, efforts and personal commitment to the community through service.
“I’ve volunteered since I was pretty little,” Stodola said. “My parents always kind of made me realize the importance of helping the rest of the community, which is something I’m really thankful for.”
Stodola is involved with Alternative Spring Breaks, where she did hurricane relief work in Galveston, Texas; Community Service Council; and Alpha Phi Omega, where she is vice president of service. Working with the last two groups has led to volunteer projects with Grace Centers of Hope, Pine Grove Salvation Army Camp, Girl Scouts of America, Gleaners Community Food Bank, Beyond Basics and OUCARES. She also is the You/Local editor of The Oakland Post.
“I was really excited to hear about the award and very honored to be nominated,” Stodola said. “Although we obviously don’t do service work for the recognition, it was nice to be recognized anyway. It’s sort of an added bonus to the rewarding feeling of serving others.”
Both women were nominated for the MCC awards by Tiffany Sims of MCC AmeriCorps*VISTA in OU’s Center for Student Activities.
MCC is the state office of Campus Contract, a national organization of nearly 1,100 member colleges and universities representing nearly 6 million students. MCC has 42 member campuses and is headquartered in Lansing. Its mission is to promote the education and commitment of college students to be civically engaged citizens.
