Steffanie Hills
Schoolcraft College
Steffanie Hills has dedicated herself to producing change and solving problems through many leadership and civic engagement opportunities over the past two years. Volunteering nearly 300 service hours, Steffanie’s most significant endeavor was establishing the SMS (Students Mentoring Students) Program to reduce bullying, school violence and shootings by reestablishing lost interpersonal connections among students. After months of research, Steffanie developed a mentorship program by creating partnerships with three middle schools in Wayne County. Student leaders from Schoolcraft provided 16 hours of one-on-one mentoring services to over 300 students every other week and a total of 108 mentoring hours in just 3 months. The SMS Program is sustainable for every upcoming semester and received tremendous acknowledgement for its success including the Distinguished Honors in Action award at PTK’s 2018 National Convention. Steffanie was also acknowledged as a Most Distinguished Chapter Officer for the Michigan Region. Currently, Steffanie is 1 of 33 students on Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson’s, Collegiate Student Advisory Task Force, that seeks to engage students within our democracy while thriving to improve voter engagement among young voters and college students. Steffanie took this initiative a step further and created a new organization at Schoolcraft called Schoolcraft Votes.
Personal Statement
As a nursing and business management student, I like to consider myself a natural leader that genuinely wants to help, motivate, and give back to those around me. Becoming an Honors Scholar and President of Schoolcraft’s PTK Honor Society has allowed me to create numerous opportunities that implement change on campus and throughout my community. I get involved in everything I can to make the world a better place for future generations to come. As my 4-year-old daughter Audriana was about to start preschool, I put all of my effort into reducing school violence and making the schools in our community safer. While juggling family, studies, and extracurriculars, I also work the midnight shift, full time, in Beaumont FH Emergency and Trauma Center, which has taught me that every second in life is a gift and to make the most of it, especially because I almost lost my daughter to a traumatic accident myself. After graduating as a Registered Nurse, I hope to transfer to Michigan State, U-of-M, or Ohio State University to obtain my Bachelors in Nursing. My career goal is to become a nurse coordinator in a reputable emergency room and continue making a difference every day.
