UW News

April 30, 2009

Annual Spring Celebration of Service and Leadership features student projects

On May 6, more than 100 UW undergraduates will showcase their civic engagement projects that benefit the local nonprofit organizations, schools, and campus programs with which they volunteer. The 18th Annual Spring Celebration of Service and Leadership happens from 4 to 6 p.m. in Mary Gates Hall and is co-hosted by Undergraduate Academic Affairs’ Carlson Leadership and Public Service Center, Jumpstart, the Pipeline Project, and the Mary Gates Endowment for Students.


“The Spring Celebration is an opportunity for students to tell their stories,” says Michaelann Jundt, the director of the Carlson Leadership and Public Service Center. “You really get a sense of how many projects are out there and how involved students are, both on and off campus.”


During the 2008-2009 school year alone, 1,317 UW students participated in University-sponsored service learning programs on campus. Also in the past academic year, 861 undergraduates have tutored or mentored preschool-12th grade students through the Pipeline Project.


In the Gallery of Student Projects, Spring Celebration attendees will see first-hand the diversity of community issues in which undergraduates are involved — from health care to education to the environment. Additionally, students will share their experiences in panel discussions. A reception caps the event and will recognize 54 Mary Gates Leadership scholars who have been pursuing leadership challenges or projects, often focused on public service in the community or on campus, with the support of scholarships from the Mary Gates Endowment for Students.


Xayachuck “Toan” Viradet, a senior double majoring in finance and economics, participated in last year’s celebration as a Mary Gates Leadership Scholar. “Not only was I able to inform others about my work,” he remembers, “but I was [also] able to incorporate their feedback and advice for the improvement of my project.”


Other students are getting involved at the event by participating on evaluation teams to give presenters feedback. “This year’s Spring Celebration has expanded to include many student groups and projects,” Viradet states. “I’m on the feedback team this year and am very excited to help learn and reflect back on my own leadership and community projects.”


Some of the 80 projects being presented in the Gallery of Student Projects are listed below:



  • “One Page at a Time” — A Documentary on the Project of Children’s Literacy in Seattle
  • Increasing Stroke Awareness through the Seattle Metro Bus System
  • Los Nuevos Americanos — Social Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth
  • Maintaining the Strength and Reducing the Environmental Impact of Industry in Washington State
  • One World Now! — Providing Global Leadership Opportunities for Seattle Youth
  • Project F.A.M.I.L.Y. — Filipino Americans Mentoring and Instilling Leadership in Youth
  • Students in the Community — Health Education and Homelessness
  • The Digital Learning Commons and Web-Based Learning in Washington State Classrooms
  • Working with Engineers without Borders in Bolivia — Improving Quality of Life Through Sustainable Engineering Projects
  • Youth Can Move the World — Reproductive Health Workshop Guyana 2008


The Spring Celebration is free and open to the public.