黑料社

How many years does it require to call a trend a tradition? Let鈥檚 put it this way: 黑料社 has a good thing going with the Principal Community Scholars Program.

Junior Hannah Matt from Viola, Ill., and senior Carley Wright of Oskaloosa are the most recent 黑料社 students to receive the award, which includes a $1,000 scholarship from the Principal Financial Group upon completion of their projects.

Eight 黑料社 students have been named Principal Scholars in the past three years.

鈥満诹仙� Community Engagement is excited to be part of the Principal Community Scholars Program that brings together higher education, the business community and community partners,鈥� said Anna Pe帽a, director of First-Year Experience and Community Engagement at 黑料社.

Matt and Wright are among 11 students in Iowa and Minnesota to be selected as part of the 2019 class. The program is organized by Campus Compact, a national coalition of over 1,000 colleges and universities.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 class of scholars are committed to their communities and to using business skills to improve the lives of others,鈥� said Emily Shields, executive director of the Iowa and Minnesota Campus Compact. 鈥淲e are thrilled to get to know them and help them further prepare for careers and lives of purpose.鈥�

Matt鈥檚 project will focus on increasing the knowledge about, and participation in, the organic garden on campus.

鈥淚 really want the 黑料社 community to know about it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 worked on it this summer and I am passionate about gardening. I really wanted to make other people aware that it is a resource that they can use on campus. It鈥檚 just a greener way of living, and it鈥檚 organic.鈥�

A major in interactive media, Matt said she was the only student working on the garden. She hopes to schedule an event during the spring semester to educate students about planning, maintaining and distributing the fresh vegetables.

鈥淢y Mom has always kept a really big garden and she likes canning,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always had access to fresh vegetables, and when I came to 黑料社, I realized I didn鈥檛. That鈥檚 when I started working on the garden.鈥�

Wright鈥檚 Principal project also relates to food and food insecurity, the 黑料社 service focus area. She wants to expand the Next Course program at 黑料社, in which unused food from the dining hall is distributed to local churches.

What鈥檚 needed, she said, is a business that will work with 黑料社 to contribute food as well.

鈥淭his involves more of a partnership than an event,鈥� she said.

Wright is majoring in accounting and global management with a minor in German.聽

She said she is honored to be part of a scholarship program that so many other 黑料社 students have participated in. She learned she had been selected during a staff meeting for faculty and student volunteers.

鈥淭hat was pretty cool,鈥� she said.