NRCC News

NRCC student & alumni recognized by NRV Leading Lights

Oct 27 2020

This is an archived article!

This article was published on Oct 27 2020 and was archived on Oct 28 2021. The information below may be outdated or inaccurate.

One New River Community College student and two alumni were recently honored for their volunteer work in the New River Valley. Addison Levy, Jami Martin and Hannah Westbrook were recognized in a virtual event by New River Valley Leading Lights, an organization that acknowledges and honors volunteers across the NRV who are making community changing impacts.

Levy’s community involvement includes a multitude of organizations such as Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, National Honor Society, First Tech Challenge, Relay for Life, Floydfest, Houstonfest, Chantilly Farms, Newbern Community Christian Church, New River Community College, and the Christmas Store of Pulaski. She is currently a volunteer with First Tech Challenge, a robotics competition league. A talented vocalist, Levy’s band “Gate 10” performs at nursing homes, community events, and fundraisers around the New River Valley. She has also assisted with numerous fundraisers including Relay for Life, Fellowship for Christian Athletes, academic scholarships, and church conferences. She recently took a service learning course at NRCC where she learned about the importance of volunteerism. She and her classmates performed numerous projects including baking and delivering cookies for fire, rescue, and police, set up flags for Veterans Day for the Lions Club, and made flyers for the Humane Society to help their animals get adopted. Additionally, her individual project stationed her at the Fine Arts Center of the NRV where she helped organize the Scholastic Art Contest. Levy was selected by NRV Leading Lights as a distinguished recipient and received $500 to donate to a NRV nonprofit of her choosing, and she selected the local program affiliate of Junior Appalachian Musicians. Levy is currently a student at NRCC.

Martin’s dream to work in a “helping profession” has been the cornerstone of her volunteer service. She provides safe child care for infants at her church, Cornerstone Pentecostal Holiness Church in Narrows. Martin was a Giles County Access to Community College Education (ACCE) Scholar through NRCC, and she also appeared in a promotional video for ACCE, where she articulated the importance of giving back to her community. She volunteered for two years at the School Lunch Program at Narrow High School, a program that provides food to students and community members during the summer months in Giles County at a small cost. Martin also served on the 2020 Black History Committee at NRCC and served as a vocalist at the celebration. She plans to transition her desire to help others into a career in the medical field. Martin graduated from NRCC in spring 2020.

Westbrook’s love for animals, including her own dog, cats, lizards, and goats, has turned into a passion for helping animals in need. She currently volunteers to care for animals while studying to become a veterinarian. Beyond furry friends, Westbrook also volunteers with her church and does mission work. She is also involved in multiple town festivals, including the Narrows Fall Festival, Community Easter Egg Hunt, and the Lord’s Acre Sale. She has also volunteered at the ReNew the New River yearly cleanup events and at the Giles County Land Lab. Westbrook volunteers at St. Albans Sanatorium in Radford, where she helps to restore the buildings and gives tours. Her mission work has included helping to rebuild a house for an elderly woman, a project that opened her eyes to the poverty all around. She has also enjoyed volunteering at soup kitchens, working to grow vegetables for Giles County Schools, bottle-feeding calves, helping put in irrigation lines in depressed areas, and preparing care packages to be sent to third world countries. Westbrook graduated from NRCC in spring 2020.

For more information about NRV Leading Lights, visit www.leadinglightsnrv.org.