Salisbury, a senior, received a Martin Luther King Jr. Student Service Leadership Award last Wednesday for her work with homeless veterans as well as LGBT communities.
Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, ASU Gammage executive director and MLK committee chair, said the candidates that applied for the award were fantastic. However, she said, Salisbury is a born student leader and deserves the award.
“It was the depth of Megan’s commitment and her passion and her humility that helped us as a community to choose Megan,” Jennings-Roggensack said.
The award committee looks for students who are committed to community service, have excellent academic records and try to get others involved with volunteering. The organization sends out an announcement to the entire ASU community, encouraging students and professors to nominate outstanding student leaders.
Jennings-Roggensack said she was impressed with the amount of volunteer work Salisbury has done. Salisbury’s focus on helping the LGBT community was another aspect that made her an appealing candidate.
“Volunteering is immensely rewarding, and not just ‘I can put it on my resume,’” Salisbury said. “It fills your heart with a passion that you don’t see or are able to witness everyday, and textbooks only teach so much.”
Salisbury said she is passionate about the work she does because it helps the vulnerable and the helpless. She said she wanted to challenge herself, and volunteering was just the thing to give her that challenge. In September, she also won a national essay contest focusing on the importance of social work.
“I will never be able to solve every person’s problem in our community,” Salisbury said. “But if I help one person smile, then my work for that day is done.”
Jill Johnson, a program manager at Barrett, the Honors College, said that Salisbury’s dedication to service is visible in everything she does.
“I can’t really think of anyone else more deserving of that award,” Johnson said. “The description of it is someone who shows servant leadership, and that’s completely something that I would describe as being an innate quality for Megan.”
Salisbury said she was overwhelmed and honored to receive the award, although she emphasized that she never does any volunteer work for the perks. Salisbury has dedicated most of her time to helping the homeless veterans and LGBT communities.
“I try to diversify my work,” Salisbury said. “I try to do things that most people turn their head at, because you don’t truly learn about a population until you see the full picture.”
Contact the reporter at brepasi@asu.edu
