PSU Honors Students, Faculty and Local Organization

From the left: Molly Cassidy, 2019 Newman Civic Fellow, Donald L. Birx, Ph.D., President, Plymouth State University, Kylie Hershey, President, PSU Enactus Chapter and Bonnie Bechard, Ed.D., PSU Enactus Chapter faculty advisor, Rachelle Lyons, M. Ed., 2019 Good Steward Award recipient. 

A Plymouth State University (PSU) faculty member, students, and a local community partner were honored at the Campus Compact for New Hampshire’s (CCNH) annual Presidents’ Awards presentation on April 9, 2019 in Manchester. CCNH is a statewide consortium of college and university presidents who are dedicated to advancing the civic purposes of higher education. The individuals and groups recognized were nominated by PSU

Molly Cassidy was named a Newman Civic Fellow, which recognizes and supports one student at each Campus Compact member institution throughout the country who is a change-maker and problem-solver, and demonstrates potential for public leadership. Cassidy is a senior sociology major who was nominated by President Birx because she “…exemplifies a student leader who is making significant contributions to the development of her peers, and to the local and global communities. [She] is an AmeriCorps alumnus... and dedicates her time to engaging her peers in service and serving the area through community identified projects.”

PSU Enactus was honored with the Presidents’ Leadership Award for outstanding contributions to civic engagement. Enactus is an international student organization that is committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need. The PSU chapter has launched multiple projects including the One Scoop at A Time! initiative, in partnership with the Common Man Family of Restaurants. Proceeds go to the Bridge House Homeless Shelter in Plymouth to support veterans experiencing homelessness.

Rachelle Lyons, M.Ed., was honored with the President’s Good Steward Award, which recognizes faculty or staff members who contribute professional expertise in service to the wider community. Lyons is a research assistant professor of environmental studies and a first-year fellow at PSU. She manages community-initiated partnerships and organizes field-based learning opportunities across multiple clusters. Lyons’s first-year seminar classes focus on food security, and engage students in active service with organizations such as the PSU Student Support Foundation, D’Acres and Inner City Food Drop.

D’Acres, a not-for-profit permaculture farm and educational center in Dorchester, was awarded the Presidents’ Community Partner Award for 2019, which honors a non-profit organization that has enhanced the quality of life in the community and engaged in the development of sustained, reciprocal partnerships with a college or university.