ECU senior receives community impact award

East Carolina University senior Lekisha Pittman was recognized for outstanding leadership and service by North Carolina Campus Compact, a statewide network of colleges and universities with a commitment to civic engagement. Pittman is a recipient of the network’s Community Impact Award, honoring one student leader at each member school.

ECU senior Lakisha Pittman received the Campus Compact’s Community Impact Award (Contributed photo)

Pittman is a family and community services major from High Point and is a founding member of the ECU Campus Kitchens Project (CKECU) Nutrition Outreach program. She helps lead four nutrition lessons and provides healthy snacks to 40 children each month. Pittman said she does not take what she does on campus or in the community lightly.

“I appreciate that someone else is looking on to what I am doing and I hope that someone is watching me and inspired to do something to make an impact as well,” said Pittman.

Her commitment to nurturing healthy bodies and minds through service has led to more students becoming engaged, growing the nutrition outreach program from one student leader last year to 13 active members and numerous one-time volunteers today. Pittman spends 25 hours a week as an intern with CKECU, conducts research on food insecurity among local senior citizens, and is working with other students to start an on-campus food pantry.

Pittman was honored at the Compact’s annual CSNAP student conference on Nov. 12 at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Students and staff from 24 campuses participated in networking opportunities and student-led workshops on diverse community engagement topics and a showcase of organizations working for social change, including the Campus Kitchens Project.

As one of 25 students selected by their campus for the 2016 honor, Pittman joins more than 200 college students recognized by the network since the award was first presented in 2006.

North Carolina Campus Compact is a statewide coalition of 36 public and private community colleges and universities. The network was founded in 2002 and is hosted by Elon University. North Carolina Campus Compact is an affiliate of the national Campus Compact organization, which claims 1,000 member schools representing nearly 2 million college students.
–Jamie Smith