Clark University President David Angel presented the 2013 John W. Lund Community Achievement Award to Sheila Hokanson and Amelia Willcox ’13, during a recognition dinner, Oct. 9.
Hokanson, of Charlton City (MA), was honored for her efforts with Relay for Life and Making Strides against Breast Cancer, as well as her involvement with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the Red Hat Society, and organizing several food and toy drives for the families of Main South.
“I love Worcester — I would give back any way I could, and this is just some of the ways I gave back,”
Hokanson said. Hokanson served as managerial secretary in the Sociology Department, retiring in spring 2013 after 29 years at Clark University. She graduated from Clark in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Her Clark University ties run deep: two of her sons are Clark alumni, Class of 1998; each also is married to a Clark alumna.
Willcox, of Wellesley (MA), was honored for her four-year membership and more recent leadership of Big Brothers/Big Sisters; among her countless accomplishments , she connected more than 100 mentors for the club.
“I know I did things for them, but they really have done a lot for me as well, and I’ve learned so much from being a part of this organization,” Willcox said. “It’s so thrilling for me to be a part of [my Little Sister’s] life… and Clark is what brought us together.”
The John W. Lund Clark Community Achievement Award recognizes the contributions made to the Worcester community by faculty, students, or staff members at Clark University. It is the result of a generous gift to the Greater Worcester Community Foundation by Jack Lund, who was a retired chief executive officer of the S&S Paper Company and the New England Envelope Manufacturing Company. Mr. Lund had been a generous supporter of Clark University and an active member of the Friends of the Goddard Library, and he had audited classes at Clark for more than 20 years. The gift recognizes Mr. Lund’s affection for Worcester, his appreciation for Clark’s significant level of community involvement, and his belief that change is best made by individuals.
In announcing the award, President Angel referenced a course he is currently teaching, titled with Clark’s motto, “Challenge Convention, Change Our World.” The students are studying how change is really made, and he pointed out that the recipients of the Lund Awards exemplify both the motto and the morals that Lund believed in.
Founded in 1887 in Worcester, Massachusetts, Clark University is a small, liberal arts-based research university addressing social and human imperatives on a global scale. Nationally renowned as a college that changes lives, Clark is emerging as a transformative force in higher education today. LEEP (Liberal Education and Effective Practice) is Clark’s pioneering model of education that combines a robust liberal arts curriculum with life-changing world and workplace experiences. Clark’s faculty and students work across boundaries to develop solutions to complex challenges in the natural sciences, psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. The Clark educational experience embodies the University’s motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.