Melissa Reilly of Mahopac, NY Received URI's Rainville Leadership Award

2013 Jun 10

The University of Rhode Island honored student leaders at its 25th annual A. Robert Rainville Leadership Awards. The highly competitive awards are presented by the URI Office of Student Involvement to students who have shown exemplary leadership and teamwork skills while maintaining good academic standing. Students are nominated by faculty, staff, and fellow students.

Four awards were presented: the A. Robert Rainville Student Leadership Award, Student Employee Award, Team Excellence Award, and the Robert L. Carothers Servant Leadership Award. Three of the awards are named for A. Robert Rainville, who served as vice president for Student Affairs from 1980 to 86, and who was considered a friend and mentor to students. The Servant Leadership Award is named for Robert L. Carothers, who spent 18 years as URI's 10th president.

This year's recipients included:

Melissa Reilly of Mahopac, NY, received the Rainville Servant Leader Award

About the awards and recipients:

• Student Employee Leadership: Recent sociology graduate Shawn Miner was awarded this year's Student Employee Award. He has been a building manager for Memorial Union Building Services since 2011. Recently, he was promoted to senior building manager. Miner attributes many of his skills and much of his personal growth to his job as building manager. Miner also volunteers as an emergency medical technician at URI Emergency Medical Services. He holds dual positions as corporal and recruit training coordinator. Working with URI EMS is an extra 20-hour per week commitment, but Miner says that effective time management is something that every student employee should possess in order to be an asset to their workplace and successful in their schoolwork and extracurricular activities.
• Student Leadership: A recent graduate with a double major in global business management and Chinese language and literature, Dempsey received the award for her leadership accomplishments in on-campus organizations. She has served as president of the Student Entertainment Committee and Colleges against Cancer and as chairperson for Relay for Life. In addition, Dempsey is a tour guide for the Office of Admission at URI and a member of the Business Students Advisory Council, as well as the honor societies Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, and Omicron Delta Kappa.
• Servant Leadership Award: Melissa Reilly, a fourth-year Pharmacy student with a minor in Biology, was awarded the Robert L. Carothers Servant Leadership Award. She has continued her servant leadership at URI even in the face of adversity. She has overcome numerous obstacles, and was able to channel those experiences into positive energy by practicing meditation. She has coordinated things like an in-state Alternative Spring Break since 2012 and volunteers at Clinica Esperanza/Hope Clinic, a free clinic for uninsured Rhode Island residents, an experience which she credits with helping her decide to open her own free clinic in the future.
• Servant Leadership Award: Mecca Smith was also awarded the Robert L. Carothers Servant Leadership Award. Smith is a recent graduate with a double major in cultural anthropology and film media studies and double minor in leadership and nonviolence & peace studies. She is a founding member of the URI Anthropology Society and the URI Film Collaborative, and served as treasurer for the URI Outing Club and secretary for the URI chapter of the freshman honor society Phi Eta Sigma. Smith has also traveled abroad extensively. Her destinations include Belize, Nepal, and Mexico.
• Team Excellence Award: URI S.A.V.E.S stands for "Students Actively Volunteering and Engaging in Service." While much of the their service is centered on Rhode Island, URI S.A.V.E.S. has partnered with Habitat for Humanity to offer alternative spring breaks around the U.S. In March, 24 students traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to work with Habitat for Humanity and other non-profit agencies. The organization raises 100 percent of the trip cost, and more recently has begun raising even more to provide a donation to the agency being served. In total, URI S.A.V.E.S. estimates that it has completed more than 7,500 hours of community service since its inception. Members include: Chelsea Bolmer of Burlington, N.J., Alexandra Hayes of Westerly, R.I., Alexis Hayes of Westerly, R.I., William Law of Charlestown, R.I., David Maggio of Lenox, Mass., Nick Silvestri of Westerly, R.I., Lindsey Streich of North Kingstown, R.I., Ashley Toland of Tewskbury, M.A., Emily Tradd of Merrimac, Mass., and Joe Walter of Bayonne, N.J.