Beyond-The-Classroom Community-Engaged Learning: Spartan Volunteer Service Awards
A group photo of Spartan Volunteer Service Awardees in attendance at the ceremony on January 23rd, 2025, with President Kevin M. Guskiewicz (center)
By: K.C. Keyton
The 8th annual Spartan Volunteer Service Awards (SVSA) ceremony on January 23, 2026, recognized 154 students for time dedicated to their communities from December 9, 2024, through December 7, 2025. This is the second-largest group of volunteers to receive this award, co-sponsored by the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) and the Office of the President.
The SVSA honors any MSU student who tracks 100 hours or more of community engagement activities within a given yearlong timeframe using CCEL’s SpartansVolunteer platform. This year’s awardees collectively tracked 28,376 hours, creating the equivalent of $932,729 of financial impact in communities served according to the Independent Sector.
Trinity Amalraj spoke at the Spartan Volunteer Service Award ceremony. She volunteered over 1,000 hours of her time in the previous year with UM Health - Sparrow, the MSU Center for Survivors, and other health initiatives.
“Reaching out to my own volunteer community has taught me how our individual power as volunteers really strengthens when we combine forces with our fellow volunteers to facilitate positive changes we want to see in the community,” said featured student speaker Trinity Amalraj at the ceremony.
This year’s top three volunteers by hours were Amalraj, Lauren Bradford, and Sumaiya Imad. These students were also recognized at the University Outreach and Engagement Awards Ceremony in March 2026, where they each received $350 to donate to a nonprofit of their choice.
CCEL thanks all of our incredible Spartans who went above and beyond to engage with communities this year!
