JSC Junior Receives 2016 Engaged Student Award

April 12, 2016

Rachele Funk of Gansevroot, N.Y., has received the Vermont Campus Compact’s “2016 Engaged Student Award” for Johnson State College. A junior majoring in business and marketing at JSC, she will receive the award at the VCC’s annual Engaged Campus Forum on April 19 at Vermont Technical College.

“Rachele is a well-rounded volunteer who has a passion for giving back to the community and sharing that passion with others,” said Krista Swahn, JSC’s director of student activities and community service, who nominated Funk for the award.

Since Funk’s first year at JSC, she has participated in four volunteer experiences during student breaks as part of JSC’s Badger Alternative Breaks program, starting with a trip her freshman year to Chestertown, Maryland, where she and other JSC students volunteered with Mid-Atlantic Border Collie Rescue. Since that time, she has worked with LGTBQ+ youth in New York City and has twice helped with environmental projects in the Grand Canyon.

Badger Alternative Breaks at JSC is associated with Break Away, a national organization created in 1991 to support alternative break groups on U.S. college campuses. Rather than travel to traditional spring break locations, students perform community service projects tied to specific social issues.

Funk also has volunteered extensively at JSC and in the local community. Among other commitments, she currently coordinates marketing and communications for the Badger Alternative Break program, plans and coordinates service projects for Earth Day, and volunteers at the North Country Animal League.

VCC is a statewide consortium of 18 college and university presidents committed to “creating a flourishing democracy.” The Engaged Student Award is presented annually to a student at a VCC-member campus who invests significant time and energy in activities that promote and support engagement at their institution and among their peers.