One woman and four men’s soccer players will receive the Presidential Volunteer Service Award during the Student Organization Aware=d ceremony on May 2.
Kaitlin Joyan, a graduate student from San Antonio, has volunteered over 1,400 hours with Task Force Argo, with more than 500 of those hours accrued in the last year. In her work, Joyan is assigned as a case manager to assist persons in need of evacuation from Afghanistan and assists them with navigating the immigration process to relocate in the U.S. and/or reunify with family.
She has successfully helped 14 Afghan nationals to evacuate from Afghanistan since the U.S. withdrawal.
“Kaitlin has constantly displayed a level of energy and devotion unmatched in performing volunteer efforts during this Afghanistan crisis. Her professionalism, organizational skills, and resourcefulness have been the key reason why many individuals were able to be evacuated. Through a virtual world she has helped others navigate the immigration pipeline, provided hope to those most in despair, and opened doors leading others to a life of safety and peace,” aid Task Force Argo Executive Director Anna Lloyd.
Joyan graduated from Sul Ross State with a Bachelor of Arts in December 2021 and will graduate in May with a Master in Public Administration. She is being honored this year with the Gold Medal.
Four members of the SRSU Men’s Soccer team contributed 109 hours of service to the Big Bend Youth Soccer Association as part of their efforts to provide free sports clinics to youth.
Jaden Brown (2023), Manual Osorio (2026), Ricardo Balonos (2026) and Demetrio Ortegon (2022) each contributed a minimum of 25 hours of their knowledge, experience and time to support the facilitation of youth soccer clinics.
They will be honored with the Bronze Certificate for Groups/Teams.
This Presidential Volunteer Service Award is the nation’s premier volunteer award program, encouraging U.S. citizens or lawfully admitted permanent residents to live a life of service through presidential recognition. Recipients complete various hours of “unpaid acts of volunteer service benefitting others.”
The award offers three levels of annual recognition and a lifetime award. Each level has a designated number of hours required appropriate to the age of the individual volunteer.
SRSU became a certifying organization to verify service hours and award the Presidential Volunteer Service Award in Fall 2022. This is the first time Sul Ross has participated in the Presidential Volunteer Service Award program.
More information can be found at presidentialserviceawards.gov or by emailing katy.williams@sulross.edu.