Volunteer Award Announced

A North County student has been honored for her volunteer work to Cuesta College and the community at large.

Re-entry student and San Miguel resident Karen Hysell is this year’s recipient of the John Schaub Student Volunteer Award. A list of Hysell’s partial contributions to the college and community include organizing and participating in the Cuesta College entry for the Pioneer Day Parade in Paso Robles, and always showing up for the monthly campus litter clean-up. Hysell also serves as a member of the “green apron brigade” – someone who welcomes students to the North County Campus during the first week of the fall and spring semesters, where she assists with registration questions and directs students to classrooms.

A psychology major that plans to transfer to Northern Arizona University later this year, Hysell also tutors English to native Spanish speakers via the Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) program at Cuesta. She is an active member of the Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS) at the North County Campus and the California Community College scholastic honor and service society. Hysell has volunteered for the Dallons Drive Adopt-A-Street program, the CDSE Pay Equity information booth/bake sale and the AGS winter coat fund drive. She is a tireless volunteer with the Economic Opportunity Commission, a county entity that reaches out to those who are economically disadvantaged.

According to mathematics instructor and AGS Advisor Richard Taylor: “I have seen Karen recruit students to join AGS with an enthusiasm that inspires students to service. It is so exciting to see Karen ignite a spark in the eyes of students who recognize, perhaps for the first time, the virtue of community service. This energetic woman is a primary reason that the members of the North County AGS are a powerful and effective group that loves to serve Cuesta and their community.”

“Karen has exhibited the spirit of volunteerism at every turn,” said Sandee McLaughlin, Executive Dean of Cuesta College North County Campus. “She understands the importance of creating a student friendly environment for fellow students, for acknowledging the accomplishments of others and for representing Cuesta in the community. In the midst of all of these activities, Karen never expects recognition. Her actions consistently exhibit ‘service above self.’”