BY: DOROTHY HAZAN '16
This week’s Kenney Community Center Volunteers of the Week are Olivia Britton ’18, Sharmeen Azher ’17, Mike Presendieu ’16 and Julia Tierney ’15, as well as ceramics instructor Nancy Niefield.
The honorees were all recently recipients of Volunteer of the Year Awards at the annual Kenney Center Volunteer Appreciation Banquet on May 21.
The students chosen for awards this year are great representatives of Union College’s commitment to the community. Olivia began her college career as a participant in the Community Experience Pre-Orientation. She regularly volunteers her time at Girls, Inc. and even spent time volunteering in Haiti over winter break.
Sharmeen is an active member of InterFaith Youth Core, and she planned Union’s fall Healthy Harvest Fest, promoting local produce, sustainability and food stability.
Mike assists with Union’s STEP Program, instructing historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged youth in math, science and technology fields. He also volunteers for U-ReBloom and regularly participates in Service Saturdays.
Julia volunteers as a student leader in the Kenney Center’s Homework Program. In the past, she has served as Philanthropy Chair of Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She also participated in the Community Experience Pre-Orientation as an incoming first year student.
Nancy Niefield, a ceramics instructor at Union, has been instrumental for many years in the success of the Empty Bowls Project, a student-led fundraising event highlighting hunger issues in the Schenectady area.