Chelsea Williams is the Center for Leadership and Community Engagement's Student Volunteer of the Month for January

Williams is from Berryville, AR and is majoring in music performance. She is involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas, Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity and the University of Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Volunteering with BBBS gives her the chance to be a live role model by sharing her time and friendship with a child who may only get to see certain aspects of the world through Williams.

Her most memorable volunteering experience was after several months of being matched with her Little Sister when she told Williams that someday she wanted to be a Razorback just like Chelsea and have her name carved in the sidewalk. That was a very special moment, as she realized that she was helping give her a concept of the future and the exciting things she could aspire to be and achieve.

Her favorite quote is from John Milton (Paradise Lost) "Freely we serve, because we freely love, as in our will to love or not; in this we stand or fall."

The Volunteer of the Month Award seeks to recognize students at the University of Arkansas who are impacting the Northwest Arkansas community through service.

The criteria for nominated students are:

• Good academic and disciplinary standing with the University of Arkansas
• Display a strong ideal of servant leadership and a consistent commitment

The Center for Leadership and Community Engagement invites the campus community to nominate students who fit the qualifications. Applications are available at service.uark.edu and must be received by 5 p.m. on the 20th of each month in order to be considered. The Volunteer of the Month will be announced on the last Friday of each month. The winner will receive a certificate and be featured on the volunteer.uark.edu website. Additionally, each month's winner will automatically be nominated for the Volunteer Spirit Awards and the State of Arkansas volunteer awards. The first Volunteer of the Month was selected for October 2010.