HELENA - Carroll College has recognized three students for their exemplary commitment of service by awarding them with the Raymond G. Hunthausen Outstanding Collegiate Citizenship Award. The selection committee chooses students who work to improve the lives of others through their own unselfish commitment of time, energy and compassion. This year’s recipients are Carly Colligan, William French, and Heather Huguet. Honorable Mention recipients were: Inderbir Bains, Oliver Carr, and Kelly Taft.
Carly Colligan is a senior nursing student from Wasilla, Alaska, and serves as the president of Carroll College Engineers Without Borders. In addition to her four-year involvement with EWB, Carly also serves as a Gold Team Ambassador for the Admissions Office and was a Community Advisor for Carroll College Residential Life for three years, earning Community Advisor of the Year in 2013-2014. Despite heavy curricular obligations including 12-hour clinicals, Carly has found time to also volunteer during Service Saturdays, at St. Jude Up ‘til Dawn and as a retreat volunteer for freshman and sophomore students, to name just a few. In Carly’s nomination letter it stated, “Carly’s commitment to peace and justice through loving and humble service make her an excellent candidate for the Hunthausen Citizenship Award.”
William French, a senior biology student from Hobson, Montana, started the non-profit organization, Little Wings, Inc. This organization serves Central Montana families who are experiencing the pains of miscarriage and stillbirth. After hearing stories of families who were financially unable to provide a burial for their baby, William worked with the local cemetery to provide plots—free of charge. William’s organization builds caskets from scratch, has worked with the local funeral homes to provide head markers, and offers emotional support for these families, all for free. While at Carroll, William traveled to the west side of Chicago to work with children living in impoverished communities as part of a Campus Ministry mission trip. In addition, he has traveled with Engineers Without Borders to Guatemala, serving as a Health and Safety Officer, and to Ghana to work with Montana Dental Outreach. William is also an active member in the Catholic service organization, the Knights of Columbus, and actively volunteers in his home parish. It stated in his nomination materials that, “William is a shining example of what it means to be a selfless, compassionate servant of Christ, and is an excellent candidate for this award.”
“Heather Huguet has a strong moral compass informed by the inherent value she places on social justice, equality, kindness, humility, altruism, and the dignity of all people,” states her nomination letter. Heather, a senior health science and public health major from Missoula, is actively involved in volunteerism that promotes equality and justice in the community and nation. On campus, Heather serves as a peer minister for women in Guadalupe Hall helping new students navigate their faith and life as college freshmen. Heather also serves as the Mass Coordinator for Campus Ministry, is actively involved in Campus Ministry retreat organization, planning, and implementation, and is an officer for the Health Sciences Club. She has also been heavily involved in volunteerism off campus. She has taken three service immersion trips during college breaks including De LaSalle Blackfeet Elementary School in Browning, Montana, to Chicago, Illinois, to volunteer with the Franciscan and Our Lady of the Angels Order working in a food bank and a local afterschool program, and another trip working with people experiencing homelessness through Christ in the City in Denver, Colorado. She has served locally through Helena Food Share, Good Samaritan, Family Promise, and many other local ministries that support the poor.
This prestigious award for community service, presented to deserving students who make outstanding contributions to the college or a community, has been a Carroll tradition since 1986. The award was named for Archbishop Raymond G. Hunthausen because of his exemplary commitment to peace and justice in his personal and professional life and his strong pastoral care for all people.
Learn more about service-learning and community service opportunities for students through the Hunthausen Center for Peace and Justice.