The Office of Community Service Learning (OCSL) recently honored eight SFSU students and faculty for their remarkable contributions to the University and community at the third annual Community Service Learning awards ceremony.

The honorees are individuals who participated in events and activities ranging from painting giant murals in small communities in El Salvador to discussing Egyptian history with inmates in the California Prison System.

Five students from various colleges won awards:

• Stephen Williams, a double major in classical Egyptian literature and creative writing, won the award for the College of Humanities for his work as an intern in the California prison system. Williams, who hopes to one day conduct historical research in Africa, spent time discussing heritage and history with inmates, with the goal of improving self esteem, self knowledge and self respect among the prisoners. Williams, a senior, also worked as a tutor for Americorps and the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center in the Western Addition.
• Cassandra Fung, an Asian American studies major, won the award for the College of Ethnic Studies for her work as an intern at the Asian American Theatre Company where she was program coordinator. Because of her dedication and excellent work ethic, Fung, a junior, quickly became an asset to the company where she coordinated box-office volunteers and updated the mailing list and Web site.
• Psychology major Alisha Garr won the award for the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences for her work as a volunteer crisis counselor with San Francisco based W.O.M.A.N. Inc., a non-governmental organization offering crisis counseling, referral services and a hotline to victims of domestic violence. Garr made herself available to counsel women 24 hours a day, by establishing an in-home crisis hotline at her residence, in addition to counseling women by phone at the office. Garr, a senior, currently volunteers at the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and hopes to one day work with disadvantaged children.
• Than T. Cao, a broadcast and electronic communications arts major with a history of volunteering for worthy causes such as breast cancer and AIDS awareness, won the award for the College of Creative Arts for her work as producer in the advanced video production course. Cao and her production team made an award-winning ad campaign for Z-Space Studios, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that promotes culturally and aesthetically diverse Bay Area theatre. Cao, a senior, is already working on another media campaign that aims to recruit volunteers for the Prisoner Activist Resource Center in San Francisco.
• Bakersfield native Jennifer Christy won the award for the College of Health and Human Services for her work with the Kwan Yin health clinic where she worked as a massage therapist and performed administrative duties including streamlining the clinic's administrative system. Christy, a senior, is focusing on health education with an emphasis on holistic health and hopes to one day own and run a wellness ranch where she will offer a broad range of healing services.

OCSL also honored three faculty members for their unparalleled efforts in instituting community service learning at SFSU.

• Assistant art professor Julia Marshall won the award for developing a groundbreaking service-learning course for art students. Students in the two-part course, called Service Learning in Art Education, developed in 2000, spend the first part of the semester in a classroom preparatory course and the second part living and collaborating artistically with residents in a small community in El Salvador. The class is the first of its kind at SFSU, and has recently been expanded to include two more Salvadoran communities and 25 students, up from 12 last year.
• Jennifer McNaughton won the award for the College of Humanities for her dedication and commitment to students and prospective teachers alike. McNaughton directs the Reading Assistance Program at Lakeshore elementary school just two blocks form SFSU. RAP is designed to help at-risk Lakeshore students learn to read, while providing the tutors, SFSU students considering careers in teaching, with the opportunity to interact with children in a classroom setting. RAP was expanded under McNaughton's direction and now includes 22 tutors, one for almost every classroom at Lakeshore Elementary.
• Erik Rosegard, assistant professor in the department of recreation and leisure studies, won the award for his work developing courses such as Care Break in which students spend spring break volunteering in the community, and Developmental Play Processes, where students have donated more than 500 toys to the San Francisco firefighters toy drive. Rosegard has collaborated with numerous organizations and universities since he began working at SFSU two years ago, and students in his courses have contributed more than 5,000 hours to community service under his watch.

In addition, the Charles Tindley Music Academy Inc. headed by SFSU alumni Carol O’Gilvie and Amos C. Brown won the community partner award for six years of collaboration with OCSL. Together, the Academy and OCSL successfully implemented the Citywide Tutorial AmeriCorps program and America Counts, both programs where SFSU students serve as academic tutors to inner-city African American youth. The Charles Tindley Academy celebrates 10 years of community service this year.

-- Public Affairs Student Writer Elizabeth Davis with Christina Holmes