Aaron Marshall, Western Carolina University

Aaron Marshall, a fourth year student at Western Carolina University, is a student leader who actively pursues issues concerning community (re)development, disaster response, and emergency management. Anyone who knows Aaron recognizes his “3 guiding words” – Engage, Enable, and Inspire. He practices this mantra in the projects he leads and with the volunteers he engages and inspires. Aaron is a prime example of a young leader who feels hope, pride, and responsibility for his community’s future. Through his numerous leadership and community engagement opportunities, Aaron has grown to appreciate and developed the tact and nuance that must accompany the articulation of ideas, perspectives, and values that sometimes might challenge those with whom he works. This is character in its rarest and truest form. Character is about what one does while no one is looking, but it is also about standing up for what one believes in while everyone is looking.