German Marquez, California State University, Fresno

German Marquez, a junior at California State University, Fresno, has distinguished himself as a scholar, servant leader, service ambassador and role model. While maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA as an Agricultural Business major and Philosophy minor, he has helped engage hundreds of his fellow students in service to others. German has personally performed hundreds of hours of community service, including helping at the Bulldog Pantry, which feeds the poor who live near our campus, and raising money for UNICEF. For the past two years he has also helped put on a carnival for the patients at Children’s Hospital of Central California. Most memorably, last year German pulled together a group of volunteers after final exams in December, when most would prefer to relax, to build a new playground for poor children living in a neighborhood near campus. German does all this and more despite the fact that he is undocumented (born in Jalisco, Mexico and brought to the U.S. by his parents) and comes from the tiny town of Tulelake in Northern California.