Acts of Service

In May, I got to represent NLU with my colleagues at the JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge. It was a great way to bring the NLU team together and support the local community, not to mention a unique way to unwind after work.

While it was great to run the Chase Corporate Challenge with my colleagues, it felt more like a service from the university to me!

I did the walk/run Chase Corporate Challenge event on May 15.  We had a great team of 50 staff and faculty we had to do that charity walk. It was a great day!

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I completed a service day training clinic staff in Juárez, Mexico — approximately 20 physical therapy students and clinicians — in a setting where no occupational therapy services exist. I have been going to this clinic since 2006, using a three-part training model. First, I treat clients directly. Second, I teach caregivers the best ways to support their family members. Third, I train the providers who work in the clinic. For the last 20 years, I have used this treat, teach, and train model to help countless individuals regain independence in the things that are most meaningful to them.

I was shoveling snow for the daycare center and I wanted to make sure that the children were able to enjoy the winter weather and be able to play and be safe as well. Embodying the NLU spirit by doing this act of service makes me feel connected to the community.

I volunteered to collect garbage on the morning of May 20 from the area Nob Hill School and the surrounding playground.

I volunteer for the Lakeland Runners Club.  We earn funds for local HS students scholarship for college.  I passed out Jersey for the May Fare race on Mother's Day to over 1000 runners.  I also ran in the 5K Saturday May 9, 2026.  The races earn funds to help HS kids get opportunity to attend college here in Florida.  Many of the HS students are on the cross country team or track and also participate in the LRC 5K throughout the year.  It's just one way many of the runners in Lakeland Florida and Polk County give back to the community.  https://lakelandrunnersclub.org/

As a family, we decided to collect pop tops for the NLU Pop Top Drive that will support Ronald McDonald House. I especially enjoyed doing this activity with my family, as my son is going to be attending NLU as a freshman in the fall.

I started donating platelets in 2018 after my mom experienced a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm. Many donors helped try to save her, so it felt like the right way to honor her and give back what others gave to my family. I continue donating simply because I am physically able to. If sitting in a chair for a couple hours means someone else makes it through surgery or finishes their treatment, that's not a hard decision for me. These donations embody the NLU spirit of empathy and service to others. Caring for someone else's wellbeing without recognition or reciprocity is the heart of hospitality.

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We traveled to Springfield, IL with a group of students, faculty and staff to participate in a Higher Education Advocacy Day. We toured the Capitol, attended a rally, met with some elected officials, and embodied the spirit of NLU as a group, learning and engaging.

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I led a small team of NLU folks in hosting one of our partners, ReDefiners World Languages (RWL), in their celebration/graduation of the students in grades K-5 who they had been tutoring. This picture is me with one of the RWL tutors in front of a table of books that were given to the little graduates. I also donated books.

Community service has always been a core part of who I am. Volunteering at the food pantry—often with my 16-year-old son by my side—leaves me feeling humbled and hopeful, inspired by the resilience and kindness within my community.

That same sense of purpose is what makes being part of National Louis University so meaningful. NLU's mission to provide access, empower students, and create pathways for social mobility is the reason I'm here. It's incredibly rewarding to contribute to an organization where our work has a tangible, lasting impact on individuals, families, and communities.

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