Campus Compact Honors Two UNH Students And Professor For Community Service

Contact: Denise Hart
603-862-1462
UNH Media Relations

May 7, 2004



DURHAM, N.H. – Two students and a faculty member from the University of New Hampshire stepped up to the podium May 4 when the Campus Compact for New Hampshire presented awards for community service. More than 100 college students, higher education staff and administrators, representatives of local K-12 schools and nonprofit organizations attended the event to celebrate and recognize community service activities at college campuses in the state.

The event took place at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on the Saint Anselm College campus in Manchester.

UNH was honored with recipients in three categories. The Presidents’ Leadership Award, recognizing individual students or student groups, went to students Kaelee Copley and Nicole Decocq, both of Windham, organizers of the UNH Relay for Life Chapter.

The Presidents’ Good Steward Award, recognizing a faculty, administrator or staff member, was awarded to Jason Bocarro, assistant professor of recreation management and policy.

The Presidents’ Community Partner Award, honoring a nonprofit, school or other organization that has collaborated with the university in community service, went to the Robin Albert on behalf of the Volunteer Action Center of the United Way of the Greater Seacoast.

Copley is an Honors Program student active in many areas of campus life. Decocq has community service experience with teenagers and literacy programs. The UNH Relay for Life, an American Cancer Society fundraiser event, took place May 1-2. Nearly 700 walkers raised more than $72,000 for this first-time event.

Bocarro teaches a course called “Youth Culture and Programs” that focuses on identifying

community and personal issues youth face in growing up. Through this course, he created a
program that benefits the local community and creates learning opportunities for students.

Campus Compact for New Hampshire is a consortium of 24 New Hampshire college and university presidents in cooperation with private sector partners who are united towards the integrating of service, civic responsibility and community collaboration into all academic, civic and student life facets of their institutions.

In the past year, college students from New Hampshire have contributed more than 705,000 hours of service to their communities leading voter registration drives, tutoring children, coordinating after school activities for youth, cleaning up parks, mentoring at-risk youth, building homes for the homeless, visiting the elderly and countless other activities in New Hampshire and beyond.