Hank Horner is senior at Wabash College, where he is active in leading numerous service projects including fundraising for the Red Cross Foundation, through which he recruited and coordinated ten student volunteers to help with an event to support hurricane relief in Texas and Puerto Rico. He also organized a now twice-annual student day of service for the Crawfordsville community. Additionally, he has been an active volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club, the Animal Welfare League, and the American Cancer Society’s Real Men Wear Pink fundraiser. Hank is in his third season as a volunteer fifth grade basketball coach for a local school.

Hank’s nominators say this about him: “Integrity. Commitment. Dedication. Those are all words that I would use to describe Hank. He sees problems and he creates opportunities to solve the problem, and along the way, he recruits and inspires others to come along on his journey of volunteering and improving the world. Whether it be raising money for the Red Cross or the American Cancer Society, Hank’s dedication to serving those in need speaks volumes to his character.”

Sierra Nuckols is a senior anthropology major at Hanover College. An active volunteer throughout her time at Hanover, she even found a way to volunteer during her study abroad in Bangalore, India. As a sophomore, Sierra created her own service initiative: the Community Food Box Project in Indianapolis. Through the Project, now in its third year, Sierra has converted nearly 40 old newspaper bins into storage units for nonperishable food items placed in “food deserts” in low-income neighborhoods. In order to make this initiative self-sustaining, she has worked with local churches, businesses, organizations and residents who have pledged to replenish the boxes regularly. She even arranged to have inmates at a local correctional facility refurbish and paint the boxes. Sierra has now expanded this initiative to Madison, Indiana, and has plans to reach Louisville next year. Among her other service activities is her serving as co-chair of the Food Justice Committee for Northwest Indianapolis, through which she works to address food justice.

As her nominator says, Sierra’s “record of volunteer service over the last years is directed at those in significant need and is executed in a sustained and transformative way. She is shaping a path for her life that will allow her to make meaningful and systemic contributions to the communities she serves. In fact, she wants to devote her life and career to working towards food justice.”