Presidential Service Awards

This is to recognize a UF undergraduate, graduate, or professional student who was enrolled in a service learning or did community based research as part of a course and extended their involvement in that project beyond the time of the class. Requirements:

• Eligible for the Presidential Service Award
• Must have a letter of recommendation from the faculty member who worked with the student in the class or research project
• Students must submit a short 200-500 word essay answering the following question: Describe your involvement in the service learning or community based learning experience. Why did you continue to work with this experience beyond the semester of the course and what have you learned from this experience?

This is to recognize a UF undergraduate student who engaged in service activities or projects that were exemplary. The activities can be co-curricular (outside of the classroom) or curricular (inside the classroom).

Requirements:

• Eligible for the Presidential Service Award
• Must be an undergraduate student.
• Must have a letter of recommendation from the faculty member who worked with the student in the class or research project
• Students must submit a short 200-500 word essay answering the following question: Describe your involvement in service activities during your time as a UF student. What impact have you made with a community partner(s) and what have you learned from this experience?

This is to recognize a UF graduate/professional student who engaged in service activities or projects that was exemplary. The activities can be co-curricular (outside of the classroom) or curricular (inside the classroom).

Requirements:

• Eligible for the Presidential Service Award
• Must be an undergraduate student.
• Must have a letter of recommendation from the faculty member who worked with the student in the class or research project
• Students must submit a short 200-500 word essay answering the following question: Describe your involvement in service activities during your time as a UF student. What impact have you made with a community partner(s) and what have you learned from this experience?

Recognizes community partners (non-UF faculty or staff) who have gone above and beyond in promoting UF students to pursue service and leadership opportunities.

Requirements

• Cannot be a current UF faculty or staff member
• Submit a short 200-500 word essay answering the following question:
  • Describe the community partner's collaboration with the University of Florida over the last year. What impact has the community partner made on the community with the help of UF students, faculty/staff or department(s)? 

Recognizes UF faculty or staff who have gone above and beyond in promoting UF students to pursue
service and leadership opportunities.

Requirements

• Must be a current UF faculty or staff member
• Submit a short 200-500 word essay answering the following question:
  • Describe the opportunities this faculty/staff member has promoted for students over the last year. What impact has this faculty/staff member made on the community or cause over the course of your work?

For the purposes of this award, community service is defined as time volunteered which benefits a community or its non-profit institutions and exposes students to social issues. Service that will count towards the award:

• Any service opportunity or hours you completed during your time as a UF student (any service performed from the first semester to the graduating semester will count).
• Any service opportunities or hours that can be verified by a community partner.
  Types of opportunities:
• Direct Service: Cook/serve/deliver food for the homebound or homeless; Tutor, mentor, or coach youth; visit with the elderly
• Indirect Service: Participate in an environmental project; Build low-income housing; Fundraise for a nonprofit beneficiary
• Research Service: Work in a laboratory that contributes to the solution of a community need; Test water to assist with restoration efforts
• Advocacy Service: Conduct information campaigns; Lobby on behalf of a community issue; Conduct nonpartisan voter registration drives

• Service opportunities that have been court-ordered or sanctioned.
• Opportunities that have been paid (i.e. you received a paycheck for your work).

Only students graduating in the current academic year are eligible to apply.

Your service experience will be verified via a service log submitted with your application which includes all of the hours that you served, the agency you served with, contact information, dates of participation, and a reference signature to verify those hours.

You may also provide an outside or organization service log/s as long as it includes all of the above details in addition to an official letterhead from the organization you volunteered with. We will NOT approve hours that do not have all of the criteria listed on their log.

No. You may count hours completed in other places towards the hours requirement.

The organization advisor should sign off on service hours.