UL System Students Strong in Service

BATON ROUGE – Did you know Louisiana sends more children to be treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital than any other state except Tennessee?  The state also houses two of the six St. Jude affiliate clinics around the United States.  That is why student leaders in the University of Louisiana System are organizing Students Strong in Service, two weeks of events in November to raise awareness and funding for the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance.

“The UL System Student Advisory Council decided on this project because it hits close to home with so many St. Jude patients from Louisiana.  As student leaders we believe higher education is not only about getting an education but also about molding ourselves to be the best well-rounded citizens we can be.  It is our hope that students, faculty, administrators and staff at all eight universities who participate will come away feeling we have made a positive impact on the state of Louisiana,” said University of Louisiana at Monroe Student Government Association President Brooke Dugas who chairs the group of SGA Presidents that make up the UL System Student Advisory Council.

Other members of the Student Advisory Council (SAC) are Grambling State University SGA President Channing Gaulden who also serves as the SAC Service-Learning Coordinator, Louisiana Tech University SGA President Clint Carlisle, McNeese State University SGA President John Tarasiewicz who also serves as SAC Vice Chair, Nicholls State University SGA President John Lombardo who also serves as the UL System Student Board Member, Northwestern State University SGA President Tara Luck, Southeastern Louisiana University SGA President Luther Holloway, and University of Louisiana at Lafayette SGA President Kylie Templet.

WHAT: UL System Students Strong in Service Events for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

WHEN/WHERE:

• Oct. 31 – Nov. 4, 2011 at Louisiana Tech University and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
• Nov. 7 – 11, 2011 at Grambling State University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

The week of activities on each of the eight university campuses will include supply/book drives; letter-writing campaigns; athletic events such as 5K runs, bike rides or basketball tournaments; and campus-specific events such as switching places with administrators for a day.  Detailed listings of events by campus will be released later this fall.

“We are so excited that the SGA Presidents have chosen St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as the beneficiary for their additional fundraising efforts this year.  So many of the University of Louisiana System universities participate in our Up ‘Til Dawn Program and have raised enormous amounts of money and awareness for St. Jude.  We are thrilled about the opportunity to expand our relationship with the UL System through this new effort on behalf of the SGA Presidents,” said St. Jude Event Marketing Representative Andree Miller.

University of Louisiana System student leaders have a long history of student-driven service projects including:

• Voter registration drives,
• College preparation campaigns including middle and high school visits,
• Extreme Spring Break Habitat for Humanity projects, and now
• Students Strong in Service fundraising for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

“I am extremely proud of our student leaders.  They have conceptualized, planned and are executing these events to help an organization that gives hope to so many children.  In higher education, we are in the business of educating students but sometimes they teach us, such as the value of service and philanthropy,” said UL System President Randy Moffett.

For more information about St. Jude, go to www.stjude.org.  To learn more about the UL System, visit www.ulsystem.edu.

-ULS-

ABOUT THE UL SYSTEM: The University of Louisiana System is the largest higher education system in the state enrolling about 83,000 students at Grambling State University, Louisiana Tech University, McNeese State University, Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Louisiana  at Lafayette and the University of Louisiana at Monroe.  With the addition of the University of New Orleans pending SACS-COC approval, the UL System’s enrollment will grow to over 94,000 students.