By Margo Boone '26
Through service, Maroons learn how deeply connected we are to one another and how we can be catalysts for good in our communities.
That’s why the Center for Civic Engagement is committed to organizing a wide variety of service opportunities and mentoring students who go on to become tomorrow’s problem solvers.
The center, whose work takes students into nearly 20 diverse regional agencies, was just awarded a grant to support its student leadership programs.
Related: Center for Civic Engagement Selected for The Allstate Foundation Youth Service Stimulus Grant
Those initiatives empower students to spearhead efforts that contribute to pressing issues of food insecurity, housing, education and environmental conservation. Their work makes a direct impact on our community. It also instills in them skills and principles that will stick with them long after graduation.
Keep scrolling to hear directly from students on how service taught them leadership, led them to find their path and brought them joy.
Answering the call to serve 
Community service was always an important part of life for Jill Corcoran ’25, once she knew she wanted to continue at college.
Corcoran became group leader for the West End Center for Youth after volunteering for two years as a tutor for young students and giving one-on-one attention to those in need of extra help building their literacy skills.
Her work at the youth center helped Corcoran, a psychology and Spanish double major, better understand the deep impact that generational trauma can have on a child.
It also led her to find her calling as a future school psychologist. Corcoran now aims to be one of the dedicated people working to heal trauma and uplift children. She is particularly passionate about helping disadvantaged students get the support needed to be successful.
“I want to help marginalized communities feel seen and heard,” she said. “To advocate for those that are unable to advocate for themselves.”
Sweat equity with Habitat 
From the moment she stepped onto a R House build site as a freshman, Janet Sweat ’24 felt a connection.
The work, a rite of passage for new students at Roanoke, is an intensive introduction to the power of service and community. In a few short weeks, freshmen help build the entire framework of a Habitat for Humanity house, working side-by-side with community volunteers and the local family who’ll benefit from the home.
The project inspired Sweat, a sport management major, to get more involved. She’s now a site coordinator for R House and an alternative break leader who organizes trips across the country to work on affordable housing projects.
Those opportunities, created by the Center for Civic Engagement, have helped her hone diverse skills from wielding a hammer to keeping volunteers energized on long build days. It’s also kindled a lifelong belief in the importance of volunteerism and service.
“It’s genuinely fulfilling,” Sweat said. “It fills my heart with so much joy to know that, in some capacity, I not only was able to put a smile on someone's face, but I was also able to help that person.”
A humble servant's heart 
Several days a week, Aidan Lacombe ’26 makes the trip to Feeding Southwest Virginia, where he gets to work unloading deliveries and stocking up the free neighborhood pantry offered by the nonprofit's Community Solutions Center.
Lacombe, a political science and criminal justice double major, is also an ambassador for the busy food bank whose work helps confront food insecurity across a sprawling region of 26 counties and nine cities.
As a service leader fellow for the Center for Civic Engagement, Lacombe mobilizes and supports other students who want to serve, pairing them with Feeding Southwest Virginia for opportunities to volunteer and foster connection with the off-campus community.
“Working with the Center for Civic Engagement has taught me just how important service is in ways big and small,” Lacombe said. "It’s shown me firsthand how much of an impact you can make by serving others even in humble ways. Many people are struggling, and you have a chance to make a difference in their day.”
Learning to lead 
Gianna Hannum ’24 wanted to keep honing her leadership skills and connect with the community, which was new to her as an out-of-state transplant, when she arrived at Roanoke for college.
The Center for Civic Engagement’s service leader fellowship offered the perfect opportunity to do both for the public health studies major.
In her work, Hannum was part of the creation of an innovative partnership with Carilion Clinic. She’s also supported volunteer initiatives with Brandon Oaks Senior Living and worked extensively with the Blue Ridge Partnership for Health Science Careers, a coalition formed to develop strategic solutions to the region’s demand for more health care workers.
The experience gave her valuable insight not only into health care but into how to build community to create positive change.
“Service allowed me to get to know my community in a way unlike others,” she said. “I was able to get to know people and foster trust with populations that I want to serve in my future career in public health and policy.”
“The first step to helping a community is to get to know its people. That’s something I’ve learned here and am a firm believer in.”