Eastern Florida Student Recognized for Volunteer Service


January 27, 2015

Nikki Linder, an 麻豆视频 student involved in the college鈥檚 Service-Learning program, has received the Brevard County Star Award for her volunteer work with the county government system.

nikki linderThe award was presented Jan. 27 by County Manager Stockton Whitten at a meeting of the Brevard County Commission.

Linder began volunteering with Brevard County's Risk Management Department last year to satisfy her volunteer requirement for a Service-Learning class taught by Assistant Professor Michelle Morris.  

She performed administrative duties such as record keeping, coordination between departments, creating safety manuals and archiving for the Risk Management, Finance and Industrial Hygiene Departments.

鈥淟inder has provided more than 200 hours of volunteer service and participated in many noteworthy projects,鈥 said Evelyn Young, director of Service-Learning at Eastern Florida. 鈥淭hese projects include fundraising for the Fisher House at Keesler Air Force Base, assisting Keesler鈥檚 military families after Hurricane Katrina, organizing the Patriot Family Network and teaching health and fitness classes at Westover Air Reserve Base.

鈥淪he has also assisted with Ryan Rust鈥檚 鈥淎dopt a Hero鈥 program that supports deployed military members. She served as the vice president of the North Georgia Mounted Search and Rescue, through which she became Florida State Director with the Cue Center for Missing Persons.鈥  

Nikki Linder on horseCurrently, Linder serves as the Bravo Squad Leader with the Brevard County Sheriff鈥檚 Mounted Posse.

Community service is a way of life for Linder who began volunteering at the age of eight, shelving books at the Brewerton Free Library in New York where her mother was a library director.

鈥淚 have found that volunteering helps you meet new people, exposes you to new opportunities, and helps you network professionally,鈥 she said.

Linder is scheduled to graduate from Eastern Florida in June with an Associate in Arts degree. She plans to pursue a Bachelor鈥檚 Degree in Business Management with a concentration in Risk Management from the University of Central Florida.  

She also intends to continue to volunteer with Brevard County Risk Management.

Linder is not alone in her service to the local community. In 2014, more than 5,000 Eastern Florida students volunteered more than 240,000 community service hours.

For more information on Service-Learning, visit easternflorida.edu or contact Evelyn Young at 321-433-5610 or younge@easternflorida.edu