The Nebraska state legislature this week passed a resolution commending Seventh-day Adventist-owned Union College for accomplishments that include community service and increasing enrollment from around the nation and the globe.

Legislative Resolution 248recognized the college for having received the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction awarded by the Corporation for National and Community Service. The award was received by fewer than 140 schools in the United States. A fellow Adventist institution, La Sierra University, in Riverside, California, also received the award.

“While it is nice for our campus to be recognized, the true measure of our success is found in the attitudes of Union College students,” said Union College President David Smith. “As our students discover the joy of service, they perpetuate their experience through leading and initiating opportunities for their peers to make a difference.”

Launched in 2006, the Community Service Honor Roll is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement.

In recent years, more than 80 percent of students have participated in voluntary community service, college spokesperson Jacque Smith said.

“College students like those at Union College are tackling the toughest problems in America, demonstrating their compassion, commitment, and creativity by serving as mentors, tutors, health workers, and even engineers,” said David Eisner, chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service. “They represent a renewed spirit of civic engagement fostered by outstanding leadership on caring campuses.”

Ann Bryant, Union College student chaplain and junior business major, says she enjoys giving other students the power to lead. “I get to empower a lot of people. When I ask someone to lead a project and they worry about doing it correctly, I can tell them, ‘It’s all right. Do what you can and we’ll figure out the best way to do it together.’”