Somarr Elliott ’25 receives Charles J. Ping Student Service Award

Somarr Elliott ’25, a neuroscience major in the cognitive behavioral neuroscience track at The College of Wooster, recently received Ohio Campus Compact’s Charles J. Ping Student Service Award. Wooster President Anne McCall nominated Elliott “for his passion and work on local homelessness, helping build and promote the College volunteer platform: Building Connections, and for his intentionality on encouraging student volunteerism following the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The award recognizes and honors undergraduate students for their outstanding leadership and contributions to community service or service-learning on their campus and within their community. Elliott’s main service focus on giving back to the homeless community stems from personal experience. Through community help, his family was able to escape homelessness and live a more stable life. Because his high school did not have many volunteer opportunities, Elliott focused on academics, work, athletics, and personal family life. However, he said, “I still had the desire to pour back into my community as they did my family at our lowest.”

Elliott came to Wooster from the Atlanta, Georgia, area as a Posse Scholar, a national program which recruits, trains, and places high-achieving students with leadership potential at partner schools. In his first year at Wooster, he took the initiative to volunteer at the Wayne County Severe Weather Shelter which provides a safe place to stay during nights when temperatures are freezing. For two years, he prepared and served food, maintained cleanliness, and worked with the shelter guests. During the summer after his sophomore year, he worked as residential support staff at the Open Door Counseling Center, providing similar services and informing residents about resources such as free public transportation and permanent housing programs to encourage self-sufficiency. Currently, he volunteers once a week at the Trinity Church Free Breakfast Program.

While volunteering at the Wayne County Severe Weather Shelter, Elliott joined Wooster Volunteer Network, the College’s volunteering student organization. He organized events to benefit the county’s homeless population, including a Blanket Making Night for volunteers to make blankets from fleece fabrics donated to campus partners.

“My experiences in this sector have been fulfilling and affirmed my need to integrate this work into my future career,” said Elliot, a pre-med student who is also completing the public health pathway at Wooster. As an aspiring scientist-physician, he added, “I hope to create a practice that can provide health resources to those who are homeless or have no other resources in which to receive proper healthcare.”

Posted in News on April 28, 2024.