News

Every year, St. Olaf College awards individuals and organizations who are making a difference through civic engagement. Annual awardees include a student, faculty or staff member, and an external community partner.

This year, Assistant Professor of Nursing Emily Carroll received the President’s Civic Engagement Leadership Award, John Arnell ’25 received the President’s Student Leadership Award, and Growing Up Healthy received the President’s Community Partner Award.

The honors are part of the annual civic engagement awards bestowed by the SEED Coalition, which St. Olaf is a member of. The student leadership awardee from St. Olaf will be submitted for consideration for this year’s statewide SEED award. 

Candidates are nominated by the St.Olaf community for three separate categories:

The President’s Civic Engagement Leadership Award honors a faculty or staff member — or campus group — who has advanced St. Olaf’s civic mission through strong partnerships and sustained leadership in institutionalizing engagement.

The President’s Student Leadership Award celebrates a student or student organization that demonstrates exceptional civic responsibility, leadership, and a deep commitment to community engagement.

The President’s Community Partner Award recognizes a community-based partner or organization that has meaningfully improved local quality of life through reciprocal collaboration with the college.

St. Olaf Academic Civic Engagement Program Director Alyssa Melby notes that the three separate awards represent the stakeholders of the college’s civic engagement with the world. “Each actor uplifts the other stakeholders’ work, and that’s how real change happens,” she says.

The 2025 awardees have led impactful, meaningful work both on and off campus.

President’s Civic Engagement Leadership Award: Emily Carroll
Emily Carroll is an assistant professor of nursing who has sought out many new relationships with community partners to diversify the settings, patients, and geography of community-based clinical learning for nursing students. Through her work with HealthFinders Collaborative, she revamped the Public Health Nursing course so students now provide hearing and vision screenings for all 1st, 3rd, and 5th graders in Northfield. Beyond the classroom, she advises the Public Health Education and Wellness Club (PHEW) and serves on the Northfield Hospital DEI Board and the Rice County Community Justice Council.

President’s Student Leadership Award: John Arnell ’25
In his four years at St. Olaf, John Arnell ’25 has displayed exceptional service and leadership within both the St. Olaf campus and the greater Northfield community. As a member of the St. Olaf EMTs, Arnell plays a vital role in providing medical care to the St. Olaf community. In addition, he contributes to the Teaching English as a Second Language program, where he provides academic support to non-native English-speaking youth in Faribault. He also serves as a mentor to a Northfield elementary school student through the Project Friendship Program.

President’s Community Partner Award: Growing Up Healthy
Growing Up Healthy (GUH) programs provide significant support for families in Rice County with infant, toddler, and preschool-age children, particularly Spanish and Somali-speaking families. GUH promotes early connections between parents, children, and educators, emphasizing creative ways to learn through play, enhancing parenting skills, and helping children prepare for school. The programs have served more than 520 students since 2018. GUH has partnered with psychology academic civic engagement courses for several years to identify specific areas, including research, data analysis, and resource development, that will help advance GUH’s goals.

“This year’s awardees exemplify what it means to be an Ole — individuals of action and substance who will shape the world. Being civically engaged deepens our relationship with our neighbors and community on and off campus.”

— St. Olaf President Susan Rundell Singer

Melby notes that the awards are important for both the individuals and the community. “Any time we recognize and celebrate groups and individuals that strive for community improvement, especially in current climates, we encourage others to support and contribute,” she says.