Emerald Bentley
Ivy Tech Community College Northeast
Emerald 'Emmy' Bentley is a sophomore nursing student dedicated to creating a better College and community through her efforts at building partnerships and creative utilization of resources. After realizing the effects food insecurity was having on her community and the educational attainment of her peers, Emmy was instrumental in developing a vision for how Ivy Tech can work towards food security in the Northeast region. As Vice-President of the Student Government Association she leads the student organization as they work on opening a student-run pantry, Ivy Community Cupboard, as a part of that vision.
Emmy is a previous Student Leadership Academy graduate that is currently serving her campus as Campus Activities Board President. She uses her influential position as a student leader to encourage a sense of civic engagement in the student body by promoting and organizing service opportunities. Recently she served as a student leader in our large-scale Days of Service blanket collection that allowed over 200 blankets to be made on campus for donation to four local charities serving homeless families and children and is preparing for an upcoming international service trip with her program.
Personal Statement
The idea of giving back has been instilled in me since I was young. I saw becoming a nurse as one of the best ways to give my talent to serve my community. Though out my life, I have had many opportunities to give back but my involvement in creating a student run food pantry on my campus has had the greatest impact on me. My involvement in the creation of this food pantry started when I was exposed to the issue of hunger during a service learning experience offered by my college. I knew after that experience that there were students on my campus that were effected. It inspired me to do something and to make a change that would serve others even after I graduated. As I did research and worked with local community partners and administrators and other students on realizing this dream, I saw what a great collection of people we have working towards a better world and am honored to work aside them. My hope is that our pantry will encourage other students to give of their time and talents to change the world one problem at a time.
