WKU Graduate Student Earns Recognition For Service
April 21, 2010
Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University graduate student Heather Cowherd has been involved with volunteerism and community service projects
since high school.
Now, as she completes at master’s degree in public administration, Cowherd is earning recognition for her service.
Cowherd has been selected as a recipient of a Congressional Award, presented to young Americans between 14 and 23 who develop skills in public service, fitness, expedition/exploration and personal development.
And in January, Cowherd was one of five young women selected as Kentucky Derby Festival princesses. As the May 1 Derby approaches, Cowherd is attending about 70 events.
“The Kentucky Derby Festival is about community celebration and promoting the importance of community service,” she said. “It is an honor to be a member of this year’s royal court.”
More than 85 young women applied for the Derby Festival Royal Court Program, which is coordinated by The Fillies, Inc. Selection criteria includes knowledge of the Derby Festival, poise, intelligence, personality, and campus and community involvement.
Cowherd has been involved in the community since 1999 when she began volunteering at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary School. For the past three years, she has served as a mentor to elementary student.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree from WKU, Cowherd began working on her master’s in public administration as well as certificates in women’s studies and leadership studies. She is a graduate assistant in the Department of Political Science and is a graduate teaching assistant this semester at the WKU South Campus where she team teaches two University Experience classes with Professor Kimberly Cunningham.
In August 2008, Cowherd began working toward the Congressional Award, under the supervision of Dr. Victoria Gordon. “Heather has been a delight to work with,” said Dr. Gordon, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science. “She has followed through on every goal set for herself and made my job of tracking her progress very easy. I was particularly impressed with her expedition project.”
To obtain the bronze medal, Cowherd was required to complete 100 hours in voluntary public service, 50 hours in personal development and 50 hours in physical fitness and engage in an expedition/exploration activity that required one overnight stay. Between August 2008 and June 2009, she completed 269 hours in the three areas and an expedition/exploration project that consisted of four days and three nights.
“From participating in the Congressional Award, I have learned more about myself and have had opportunities that would never have been possible if it wasn’t for this award program,” Cowherd said. “By achieving my goals, I believe that I have become a better person in part because of this award program.”
After wrapping up a busy spring, Cowherd’s next goal will be to continue her education by pursuing a doctoral program. Her career aspiration is to become a dean of a college or university.
The Congressional Award will be presented to Cowherd later this year by a member of Congress.
In the area of public service, Cowherd used her work at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary where she assisted teachers, wrote art education/literacy grants and implemented two educational programs called Read to Achieve and the Youth Service Club.
“From this experience, I learned more about the importance of giving your time and assistance to help others. I learned about myself and that I would like to have a career which will allow me to continue to be involved in my community,” she said.
In the personal development area, Cowherd’s goal was to improve her creative writing skills and become familiar with the publishing world. She attended writing conferences, attended lectures and spoke with authors, publishers and agents.
“From this experience, I learned that being a professional writer means immersing yourself fully into your craft. Additionally, I learned that a writer must be willing to accept critique, put time and effort in educating herself about her craft, and realize that rejection is inevitable but success is possible. Above everything else, a writer must love to write.”
For the physical fitness area, Cowherd was motivated to improve her health and lifestyle because she has relatives with diabetes and high blood pressure. Using an exercise program and working with a nutritionist, she was able to meet her fitness goals and improve her eating habits.
“I now understand that eating healthy means being aware of the food that you are putting inside of your body. I am armed with the tools necessary to aid me in maintaining a healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life,” she said.
In the expedition/exploration area, Cowherd wanted to learn about the Native American civilization and culture (specifically the Mississippians) by visiting different archaeological mound sites including Wickliffe Mounds State Historical Park, Mastodon State Historic Site, and the World National Heritage Site Cahokia Mounds.
“This exploration placed me in an unfamiliar environment,” she said. “I had never seen a mound before and had never fully understood its significance. By looking at archaeological sites, seeing pottery once sculpted by ancient hands, and standing on top of a 100-foot mound site, I was able to immerse myself in my surroundings.”
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Heather Cowherd at heather.cowherd@gmail.com.
April 21, 2010
Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University graduate student Heather Cowherd has been involved with volunteerism and community service projects
since high school. Now, as she completes at master’s degree in public administration, Cowherd is earning recognition for her service.
Cowherd has been selected as a recipient of a Congressional Award, presented to young Americans between 14 and 23 who develop skills in public service, fitness, expedition/exploration and personal development.
And in January, Cowherd was one of five young women selected as Kentucky Derby Festival princesses. As the May 1 Derby approaches, Cowherd is attending about 70 events.
“The Kentucky Derby Festival is about community celebration and promoting the importance of community service,” she said. “It is an honor to be a member of this year’s royal court.”
More than 85 young women applied for the Derby Festival Royal Court Program, which is coordinated by The Fillies, Inc. Selection criteria includes knowledge of the Derby Festival, poise, intelligence, personality, and campus and community involvement.
Cowherd has been involved in the community since 1999 when she began volunteering at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary School. For the past three years, she has served as a mentor to elementary student.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree from WKU, Cowherd began working on her master’s in public administration as well as certificates in women’s studies and leadership studies. She is a graduate assistant in the Department of Political Science and is a graduate teaching assistant this semester at the WKU South Campus where she team teaches two University Experience classes with Professor Kimberly Cunningham.
In August 2008, Cowherd began working toward the Congressional Award, under the supervision of Dr. Victoria Gordon. “Heather has been a delight to work with,” said Dr. Gordon, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science. “She has followed through on every goal set for herself and made my job of tracking her progress very easy. I was particularly impressed with her expedition project.”
To obtain the bronze medal, Cowherd was required to complete 100 hours in voluntary public service, 50 hours in personal development and 50 hours in physical fitness and engage in an expedition/exploration activity that required one overnight stay. Between August 2008 and June 2009, she completed 269 hours in the three areas and an expedition/exploration project that consisted of four days and three nights.
“From participating in the Congressional Award, I have learned more about myself and have had opportunities that would never have been possible if it wasn’t for this award program,” Cowherd said. “By achieving my goals, I believe that I have become a better person in part because of this award program.”
After wrapping up a busy spring, Cowherd’s next goal will be to continue her education by pursuing a doctoral program. Her career aspiration is to become a dean of a college or university.
The Congressional Award will be presented to Cowherd later this year by a member of Congress.
In the area of public service, Cowherd used her work at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary where she assisted teachers, wrote art education/literacy grants and implemented two educational programs called Read to Achieve and the Youth Service Club.
“From this experience, I learned more about the importance of giving your time and assistance to help others. I learned about myself and that I would like to have a career which will allow me to continue to be involved in my community,” she said.
In the personal development area, Cowherd’s goal was to improve her creative writing skills and become familiar with the publishing world. She attended writing conferences, attended lectures and spoke with authors, publishers and agents.
“From this experience, I learned that being a professional writer means immersing yourself fully into your craft. Additionally, I learned that a writer must be willing to accept critique, put time and effort in educating herself about her craft, and realize that rejection is inevitable but success is possible. Above everything else, a writer must love to write.”
For the physical fitness area, Cowherd was motivated to improve her health and lifestyle because she has relatives with diabetes and high blood pressure. Using an exercise program and working with a nutritionist, she was able to meet her fitness goals and improve her eating habits.
“I now understand that eating healthy means being aware of the food that you are putting inside of your body. I am armed with the tools necessary to aid me in maintaining a healthy lifestyle for the rest of my life,” she said.
In the expedition/exploration area, Cowherd wanted to learn about the Native American civilization and culture (specifically the Mississippians) by visiting different archaeological mound sites including Wickliffe Mounds State Historical Park, Mastodon State Historic Site, and the World National Heritage Site Cahokia Mounds.
“This exploration placed me in an unfamiliar environment,” she said. “I had never seen a mound before and had never fully understood its significance. By looking at archaeological sites, seeing pottery once sculpted by ancient hands, and standing on top of a 100-foot mound site, I was able to immerse myself in my surroundings.”
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Heather Cowherd at heather.cowherd@gmail.com.
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